A Midsummer's Dream
by Starchick
Summary: Read and see. R&R please


Probably something more for the middle of summer, but hey ^^ **shrugs**  
Hope you enjoy it anyways ^^ The title should at least give you a HINT of   
what it's about.  
  
  
-- Starchick  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A MIDSUMMER'S DREAM...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
~Tomoyo's POV~  
  
  
  
  
"Tomoyo-chan? Tomoooyoooo, hello? Are you gonna be in any time soon?"  
I looked up from where I had my nose buried in a thick paperback book. Don't get me  
wrong, it's not like I was ever a bookworm -- that's always been Naoko's department.  
But I don't know...the book I was reading was very fascinating, and I don't know why.  
Ordinarily, it wouldn't be, but it's like I all of a sudden had a certain tie to the book,  
as if I could relate to the events.  
  
"Huh?" I glanced at my orange-haired, pigtailed friend, who had her hazel eyes narrowed   
in annoyance. "Oh, sorry Chiharu-chan," I apologized, sweatdropping.  
  
Chiharu rolled her eyes at the other girls in the circle. "Honestly, she's getting as bad  
as Naoko-chan."  
Naoko leaned over, tilting the cover of my book up so that she could see it.  
"You say that like it's a bad thing, Chiharu-chan," she said sarcastically. "It's good that  
Tomoyo's actually reading something..." She suddenly frowned and stuck her tongue  
out in disgust. "Except in this case," she proclaimed. "What are you reading Shake-  
speare for?"  
  
My very best friend, Sakura Kinomoto, looked at me curiously. "Shakespeare? What   
book is it, Tomoyo?" I couldn't blame her for being confused, I'd never shown the  
slightest interest in reading before, to her anyways.  
I showed her the cover of the book. "It's A Midsummer's Night Dream," I said smiling at  
Naoko's none-too-pleased expression. She hates romance stories, says their a waste  
of an author's mind. The only time she doesn't mind romance is when the heroine of  
some mystery/horror novel falls in love with the culprit. She's weird like that, but that's  
never been a problem for us. We're all strange, in our own ways.  
  
Naoko groaned. "Great, just when I thought Tomoyo-chan would actually become  
sensible. You'll be reading Romeo and Juliet next." She shoved a cherry tomato from  
her lunch into her mouth in annoyance.  
  
Rika smiled at her. "We might as well get used to it, right? I mean, we'll be reading  
that stuff in high school."  
"Oh yeah," Sakura realized, nodding. "Touya had to read all these different Shakespeare   
stuff last year."  
"What did he say about them?" Rika asked curiously.   
Sakura shrugged. "He hated it."  
I giggled, remembering Sakura telling me about how Touya would endlessly complain  
about his English homework.  
  
Naoko raised her eyebrows at me. "Tomoyo-chan, we've got three years until high  
school, what's the big hurry? Anyway, you should be reading REAL novels at our age."  
"And what's your definition of 'real novels'?" I asked wryly, not looking up from the book.  
"Like you need to ask," Chiharu said airily. "Ghosts and dragons and mysteries that take  
forever to solve, pretty much sums it up."  
We all laughed, then Sakura leaned over toward me. "Well, if you're going to  
read and not eat your lunch, Tomoyo, can I have your chocolate-covered rice ball?"  
  
I set the book aside. "Believe me, it's not like I've gone on this Shakespeare  
binge or anything. But I just got really caught up into this story, it's so cool. Maybe  
because it's fantasy. And maybe 'cause it's about this time of year. I mean, it's the  
last day of school, right?"  
"Don't tell me you've forgotten that," Sakura exclaimed as I handed her the rice ball. I  
never have liked the chocolate-covered ones anyway, but Sakura adores them.  
  
"So what are you guys gonna do to celebrate?" Rika asked, lying down on her stomach  
underneath the shade of the large cherry blossom tree in the school courtyard. Although   
it was midsummer, the temperature outdoors was not overbearingly hot. The weather was  
just...nice, I guess. I leaned back against the tree trunk and pondered Rika's question.  
"I really don't know," I murmured thoughtfully, glancing at Sakura. She was staring  
oblivously at butterflies in the flower patch.  
  
"Really don't know what?" said a very familiar voice.  
I glanced up along with the others to see Meiling Li, who had been sitting over with  
the boys today for some reason. They weren't too far behind her -- Yamazaki Takashi,  
Li Syaoran, and Hiiragizawa Eriol. Syaoran and Eriol were close friends with Sakura,  
Meiling and I -- but we were the only ones who knew the reason why.  
  
Did I say 'close friends'? I had to smirk at Syaoran as he sat down next to my best  
friend. I didn't even want to get started on those 2. Sometimes, they were just so  
frustrating!  
Meiling plopped down next to me as the other two took places in the now largened   
circle. "What were you guys talking about?" she wanted to know.  
"Our plans for the summer," Rika informed her.  
  
"Hey, did you all hear about the new festival in town?" Chiharu asked around the circle.  
"You mean the Summer Solstice one?" Naoko asked. Syaoran raised an eyebrow and  
blinked in confusion. "The what?"  
"Translation: Midsummer's Eve," Eriol said with a patronizing smile.  
  
"Yeah," Naoko continued. "It was an idea the city came up with just a few weeks ago,  
the Midsummer's Eve festival. Only it's a carnival and a festival rolled into one! And   
tomorrow night's the opening night, June 26th, which is Midsummer's Eve." She paused.  
"I was thinking on going, how about you guys?"  
I gave her a surprised look. "What? Don't you 'know' what Midsummer's Eve is all about?"  
I stopped and sighed as I saw more than one blank face staring back at me. "Well  
maybe if YOU read 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.."  
  
"Midsummer's Eve originates from the very old days, long past Shakespeare's time,   
when fairies -- ow!" That was as far as Takashi got, no surprise, as Chiharu pulled her  
hand out from behind his back. "Excuse me, Professor Liar, I think we need to hear  
this story from a more reliable source," she said sharply, turning to Eriol. He had an  
amused look on his face.  
  
"Actually, Chiharu-chan, what Yamazaki was saying sounded right to me," he explained   
in his smooth voice. "Midsummer's Eve descends from long before Shakespearean times.   
It's a very ancient tradition, also called the Summer Solstice. It's on the longest night of  
the year. Midsummer's Eve has always been a notorious holiday for mischevious   
happenings..especially in the cases of love." Was it just me, or did he give Syaoran  
and Sakura the quickest smirk? I grinned at him; it's not as if I could hold it against  
him.  
  
"It's famous for being a night of strange happenings, strange and mysterious. It was  
a night that was said to be bewitched by the goddess Aphrodite, from Grecian myth-  
ology, because of the way people would act toward each other. People who had  
barely glanced at each other their whole lives would suddenly fall madly in love with  
each other, and at the same time, people who'd practically been ready to get married  
would fall out of love just as quickly. Since back then, they didn't have many theories,  
it was said that the Summer Solstice was enchanted by fairies. That's what Shake-  
speare based his play on. So Yamazaki-kun was right."  
  
"See?" Takashi pointed out, as Chiharu glanced at him almost apologetically.  
Naoko was looking slightly intrigued. "Do they still think it's all about fairy magic?" she  
asked. Eriol shrugged. "No one's ever come to a conclusion. The most logical one they  
can think of is that that's the way people react to the seemingly endless day and  
temperature." He snorted. "Even though it's a fact that all these occurences happen  
AFTER the sun sets."  
  
Naoko clapped her hands together happily. "I'm going. It's going to be set up in the  
northern part of the park, right? We can look for fairies in the woods, maybe prove  
once and for all what the real cause of Midsummer's Eve is." She ignored Chiharu   
staring at her and sweatdropping.  
  
"Oooh! We'll go too, won't we Syaoran? It'll be so much fun!" Meiling enthused, not  
exactly giving Syaoran the chance to protest.  
"Well, I think it'll be fun too," Eriol said. "I'll go, how about you Sakura-chan?"  
I wanted to burst out laughing as I caught sight of Syaoran's annoyed look as Sakura  
blushed and nodded. Naturally, if Sakura was going, I was going too, and Takashi and  
Chiharu weren't about to miss out on a new carnival, either."  
  
"I'll go too," Rika said doubtfully. "But I don't think we're going to find any fairies,   
Naoko." She glanced at her friend skeptically. I leaned close to Sakura. "Never know,  
it might be a renegade Clow Card with a twisted sense of humour," I whispered.  
  
Honestly sometimes, I have to wonder if I really do have magic powers to sense things.  
  
  
  
  
~Sakura's POV~  
  
  
  
  
The first day of summer break had passed very quickly, and it was now, well, Midsummer's  
Eve. The festival had started a couple hours ago, and Touya and Yukito were already  
down there. Me however...I was in the clutches of my best friend. Help.  
Upon arriving at her house, she pulled me up to her room, her 'dressing room'. "Here,"  
she said breathlessly, handing me a long piece of pink material.  
  
I looked at it curiously. "Is there a dress code for this festival?" I wondered aloud.  
"Not really," Tomoyo admitted. "But most of the girls will be wearing sundresses, some-  
thing for a midsummer night. I asked one of the officials there this morning."  
I nodded slowly, holding the material in front of me. Sure enough, it was a breezy,  
cherry blossom pink sundress, with white sunflowers speckled over the surfaces. I  
sucked a breath in: Tomoyo could make really pretty things when she really wanted to.  
"Wow, Tomoyo," I breathed.  
  
Tomoyo giggled. "I knew you'd like it. It is completely designed for you, literally and  
figuratively."  
Ducking into Tomoyo's private bathroom, I changed into the sundress, which swept  
around my ankles. It was beautiful, and it was casual...yet seemed to completely fit  
the traditional look -- for something that was supposed to be made for a night when  
romances run wild, that is.  
  
Honestly, I don't know why I blushed when I thought of that. And I thought it completely  
casual when a dark-haired, amber eyed classmate of mine popped into my head. I had  
been thinking about him on and off for about...well, since the day I met him, practically.  
He was just such a mystery, I didn't think that one could help wondering.  
Of course, I never stopped to ask myself if Tomoyo or one of my other friends ever  
thought about it as hard as I did.  
  
I stepped out of the bathroom and walked up to Tomoyo. "I really like this," I told her,  
then cocked my head to the side with a grin. "Which says a lot for your weird styles."  
"Ha, ha," Tomoyo retorted sarcastically. "Please stop, I'm about to split a gut laughing."  
She came over and tied my auburn hair into pigtails with pink flowers. "There," she  
grinned. "You look perfect."  
  
She turned back to the mirror, in her own pale lavender sundress, putting on her wide  
brimmed summer hat, one of her "extra touches", I suppose. The sunlight that still  
came from outside, despite the fact of it being almost 8 at night, caught her hair,  
giving it violet highlights. She reminded me of one of those sun goddesses in the  
mythologies we had been learning about in school. Really, I don't know why she sells  
herself so short. The girl really is gorgeous.  
  
"You're so pretty, Tomoyo!" I exclaimed, examining her from all sides.  
She laughed and grabbed my hand. "Not as cute as you are, Sakura, believe me."  
I blinked at her..something about this was unsettling. Maybe she was trying to impress  
someone tonight? The Midsummer's Eve spirit must have gotten to her. She had been  
reading a Midsummer Night's Dream a lot, and I had hardly ever seen her read before  
willingly..  
  
"Tomoyo?" I asked hesitantly, after all I was sure she would tell me if she had something  
or someONE on her mind. Maybe I could tell her too...  
She turned to me and smiled innocently. "Yes Sakura?"  
I grinned, shaking my head. "Never mind, it's nothing."  
"Well come on, then, we'll be late."  
  
  
  
  
~Chiharu's POV~  
  
  
  
  
Even if there weren't any magical fairies peeking out from around corners or anything,  
there was definetly an air of excitement at the festival. Maybe because this was an  
all new event.  
Tugging on my peach coloured sundress, I turned to Takashi. "So, will you?" I asked him.  
He glanced at me. "Chiharu, I'm not all that good," he complained. "Why don't you ask  
Li-kun or Hiiragizawa-kun?"  
Eriol gave us a smirk, while Syaoran frowned. "Oh please, she's your girlfriend," he  
muttered. Not really thinking twice about what he'd just said.  
  
"WHAT?!"  
Both Takashi and I jumped on him instantly. "We are NOT dating!" we cried in unison.  
Believe me, that's the first time I've seen Syaoran back down from an argument so  
fast. I don't think I'd ever seen Eriol laugh as hard, either.  
Meiling giggled. "You better learn to watch your mouth, Syaoran," she said in a sing-  
song voice.   
"Whatever," Syaoran threw off, glaring at Eriol.  
  
"Anyway Takashi-kun, it's just an idea for fun," I claimed, turning back to the black-  
haired boy. My friend since at least kindergarten, maybe even before, I couldn't   
remember. We had always been close, and inseperable....but sometimes he just   
irritated me so much! Like now. "I mean, what are you planning to do all night, walk   
around and tell your stories to anyone who will listen?"  
  
Takashi suddenly brightened. "Hey you know, that's not such a bad idea," he said  
cheerfully. "I wonder how many people know where this festival originates from."  
I clenched my eyes in utter frustration. "By the end of the night, they STILL won't know,  
because you'll just feed them a bunch of lies!" I snapped.  
Takashi seemed faintly hurt by that, from which I was confused. I mean, I was just  
stating the truth, right? Even he had to know that, he couldn't honestly believe that  
he always told the truth.  
  
"Now Chiharu-chan, that was a bit unfair," Eriol pointed out. "Nobody knows exactly   
whether the fairy myth is even true or not, so Yamazaki-kun can't very well be lying if   
the truth doesn't exist."  
I bit down on my lip, and Meiling covered the awkward silence. "Then what in the world  
is Naoko-chan out searching around for?" she demanded. "And where are Sakura-chan   
and Tomoyo-chan, for God's sake. They were supposed to be here an hour ago!"  
  
"I don't think it would really matter," said Tomoyo's voice teasingly from behind us. "It's  
not like the sun's planning on going anywhere for a while." She glanced up at the  
blinding star, which had barely begun to descend toward the horizon.  
Sakura came up behind her, at a run. "Sorry we're late," she apologized breathlessly.  
"We got held up." For some reason that would remain forever unknown to me, she gave  
Tomoyo an evil glare.  
  
I flipped back my braided pigtails, which had light peach ribbons woven into them.   
"Well, I'm gonna go look for Naoko-chan and Rika-chan, they were here just a while ago,"   
I explained, already starting to head off. Avoiding Takashi's gaze, for yet another   
unknown reason. I mean, he was my best friend, right? Although I had never hurt his   
feelings before..it had always seemed like such an impossible task.  
  
Maybe there really is something about Midsummer's Eve after all, I thought as I took  
off through the midway of the carnival.  
  
  
  
  
~Meiling's POV~  
  
  
  
  
"Oooh, you are SUCH a good shot, Syaoran!" I squealed as I hugged a yellow stuffed  
bunny, which had been given to me by none other. We had just been at one of the  
game booths. I don't think I needed to explain what had gone on there, it had just  
been the usual: Syaoran in a fierce competition with someone, namely Eriol this time,  
neither of them realizing that they had been winning nearly all the prizes off the rack  
in their determination to beat each other...once again, no real winner. They had caught  
up to Tomoyo, Sakura and I after we had impatiently left.  
  
I glanced at the auburn-gold haired girl with the bright green eyes, who was holding  
two stuffed animals, given to her by..like you need to ask? Eriol had given him hers  
all charming, as usual, and Syaoran had given him hers, all offhandedly and cold..as  
usual.   
I don't know who he thinks he's kidding, I thought, turning my ruby eyes to Syaoran.  
I think the entire gang knew what he felt in his heart..not the icy cold heart that   
everyone had once thought he possessed. No, she had done something to him that  
I had never been able to do...she had melted his heart.  
  
One HUGE problem, though, I reminded myself, meeting Tomoyo's gaze briefly, mirror  
looks of exasperation on our faces. Does she even know what she's done to him? Will  
he even admit it? Sometimes, they could be so sweet and caring to each other,  
sometimes they pretended the other didn't exist, and then sometimes they just let  
their tempers fly loose...their relationship was always blowing hot and cold like that.  
It was amazing to see how the deep love would show so obviously through all that...  
to everyone but themselves, that was. One of these days, they would seriously meet  
a boiling point..the relationship couldn't hold out like this.  
God, this was just so frustrating sometimes!  
  
Tomoyo straightened her ivory hat, smiling. "Well come on people, let's go on some of  
the rides," she suggested. "I mean, they made this into a carnival too for a reason,  
right?" Kero, who had tagged along with her and Sakura, and who was now riding in  
Tomoyo's purse pretending to be a stuffed animal, nodded in agreement, being careful  
not to say a word.  
  
I nodded, clapping my hands excitedly. "I want to go on the roller coasters first!" I  
exclaimed. Syaoran didn't look too thrilled with the idea.  
Sakura, though, didn't even seem to hear what had been said. She was looking off  
into the direction of the park forests, a preoccupied frown on her face.  
"Sakura-chan?" Eriol turned to her in concern. She glanced up with a startled blink, then  
gave us a smile. "I'll catch up with you all later, alright? I just want to go see if Naoko-  
chan and Rika-chan are here yet." Not even giving us a chance to reply, she ran off   
with a backward wave. I raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Well, of all the-" I began.  
  
"Maybe we should just trust her judgement now," Eriol said pointedly. Who was I to  
refuse his request? He was Clow Reed. Taking Tomoyo's hand elegantly, an English  
tradition, I guessed, he gestured us all over toward the roller coasters. Well, it wasn't  
like I was complaining; roller coasters were my absolute favourite ride.  
Nonetheless, again I wasn't overly surprised when I turned around about a minute later  
and Syaoran was gone. Honestly, nothing really surprised me about the people I hang  
with anymore.  
  
  
  
  
~Syaoran's POV~  
  
  
  
  
I saw her enter the trees, almost cautiously, as if searching for something. Absently  
noticing how the sun had finally decided to begin its descent (at almost 9:00, no less),  
the thought instantly escaped my mind as I suddenly felt a strong sense of...something.  
I was confused, it was definetly coming from the forest....and the forest itself looked  
kind of strange, like it was glowing and shimmering.  
  
I blinked, glancing back at Sakura. She was still looking around guardedly.  
"Okay, what's going on Sakura?" I demanded quietly.  
I swear, she jumped nearly a mile in the air as she whirled to look at me. I couldn't  
keep a look of amusement off my face.  
"Syaoran-kun!" she gasped in a hushed whisper. "What are you doing here?"  
"What are you doing here?" I countered. She glowered at me. "I'm looking for Naoko-  
chan and Rika-chan, if you don't have a problem with that."  
"Oh really?" I smirked. "Do you expect them to jump out at you from behind a tree?"  
Referring to the way she kept casting glances nervously over her shoulder. Which she  
stopped doing the moment I mentioned it, with a heated blush.  
  
"No!" she said hotly.  
I raised an eyebrow in confusion at her, her face kept going red and she wasn't looking  
me in the eye...but she was weird like that sometimes. I decided not to get into it.  
"What are you sensing?" I asked her calmly, looking around through the pink and orange  
tinted trees, compliments of the sunset on Midsummer's Eve.  
She gasped slightly, and I couldn't figure out what I had asked that was so wrong.  
"Wh-what makes you think I'm sensing something?" she stammered.  
  
I had to shake my head to hide my amusement. Well, at least I didn't have to ever  
worry about her hiding something from me -- she had to be an even worse liar than  
Meiling.  
"Well, you should be," I told her pointedly. "Because there is something here that's  
definetly not right."  
Her blush deepened and she turned away hastily. "I know that," she said quickly. "Why  
do you think I came looking for Naoko-chan and Rika-chan in the first place?"  
  
I closed my eyes, blocking her voice out of my mind as I tried to feel the sensation I  
was feeling...but this was the strangest sensation I had ever felt. It didn't seem like  
it was on behalf of my 'magical powers' at all, it was making me feel all funny inside,  
and...it was coming from Sakura? My eyes snapped open and I shook my head hastily --  
that couldn't be right. Something didn't make sense. I was sensing her aura? But her  
aura was around me almost daily, by now I should have been used to it....  
  
Sakura scowled as I watched her carefully, scrutinizing her and trying to figure out  
just what had happened.  
"What?" she said defensively, crossing her arms.  
Actually, that was the same thing I was wondering..what was wrong with me? I sighed.  
"It's nothing," I murmured. "I'm going to go look for the source of this thing." I turned  
and walked away.  
  
I leaned against a tree trunk, out of her sight and earshot, closing my eyes as I tried  
to calm my heart, which was already out of control. Why? Why did she do this to me?  
Why was I stupid enough to let her?  
I clenched my fists tightly, still trying to drive away these emotions that ran like wildfire  
through me, for about the 70th time. I had never shown weakness before. I have never  
cared before. What made her so different?  
  
Okay, I admit it. Although the Li Clan had told me that I was strong, they were so  
wrong...I was so weak, if she was the one thing that could bring my guard down. I  
don't know when it was that I had practically made it my mission to ensure she was  
always safe, that she was always happy..except when she was with me, of course..  
I sank down against the tree, digging my nails into my arms. I guess I was lucky I was  
wearing a jacket.  
  
Well, how dumb did I have to be to fall for..my rival? And of all people, Sakura Kinomoto?  
It was hard enough just being around her, I never could tell what she was feeling.   
Sometimes, she was really friendly, and I saw her natural sweet side show through,  
but then there were the times when we just couldn't stand each other, when I was  
sure she hated me, and vice versa. We had both changed a lot since the fourth grade,  
the girl I had once thought knew me inside out..I couldn't even read her anymore.  
  
I sighed in self disgust as I stood up. And naturally, I hadn't been able to get rid of  
a childhood crush on her..no, it just had to develop into something stronger, something  
that I couldn't control, and that frightened me.   
And I STILL hadn't figured out what that feeling had been back there, why it had been  
induced by the sight of Sakura.  
"Please, just get out of my head Sakura," I whispered to the demon in my mind. The  
demon of love and depression, something I'd been feeling for such a long time, because  
it was always there, taunting me with things that would never come to pass. We just  
couldn't be together...  
  
  
  
  
~Sakura's POV~  
  
  
  
  
The moment that I was sure Syaoran was out of sight, I ran as fast as I could in the  
opposite direction. Had to get away, had to get away from him, from what had just  
been in my heart...  
What WAS that I'd been feeling? The instant I'd stepped into the forest, I had felt  
a strong sensation, and I'd been so sure I'd been sensing a Clow Card or something...  
although I had never sensed a clow card like that before. My heartbeat had suddenly  
accelerated to breakage point, and funny stirrings were in my heart and mind.  
  
Guess who just happened to make it worse?  
God, I had almost passed out from the intensity of the emotions, right in front of him  
too. This was just so sickening, and bitter, yet sweet...  
"Argh, what is wrong with me?" I said out loud, surprised when it came out as a type  
of choking sob.  
Why did he have to be such a jerk? Why did he have to be so cold and aloof, always  
putting me down and throwing me aside. Why didn't I know him anymore? And for  
God's sake...  
"..why am I in love with you?" I whispered, tears pricking my eyelids. "Why do I always  
hate myself if I think I've hurt your feelings...if that's even possible anymore." If he  
even had feelings anymore. I just didn't know. All I knew was that I didn't want to   
fight with him, didn't want to always wonder what he was thinking of me. I just wanted  
to forget...  
  
"Hey, Sakura!"  
Gasping, I hastily blinked away my tears and turned to face Kero. "Yeah, Kero-chan?"  
"There's something around here," the yellow toy-beast said in a warning tone.  
"Yeah, I can tell Kero," I murmured, looking around. The forest was definetly shimmering,  
like it was -- enchanted. But I didn't really believe in that old Midsummer's Eve tale,  
right?  
  
"I don't know what it is, Kero," I told him, turning back to face him. "I tried sensing him,  
but all I sensed was Syaoran-" I paused, wondering if I should have said that, then  
decided to cover it up. "He was right behind me."  
Kero had a displeased look on his face, but apparently decided that current matters  
were way more important to him then matters of 'the brat'.  
"Well, we have to find the source," he said, floating higher into the air on his white  
wings. "Spinel Sun is already searching out the other side of the forest."  
  
I nodded, barely catching a word he said, as I felt that strange stirring in my chest   
again. Why couldn't I just get him out of my mind?  
  
  
  
  
~Naoko's POV~  
  
  
  
  
"Naoko-chan, can we please get out of the forest?" Rika complained, gently tugging her  
pale blue white-dotted sundress from a loose tree branch. "I didn't come to spend the  
entire time wandering around in the woods, you know. We haven't even seen some of  
the rides yet."  
  
I sighed, trying to block out her voice as I continued searching around in excitement.  
"Rika-chan, you can do that any time," I told her impatiently. "But tonight's Midsummer's   
Eve, I want to see if the fairy tale is real or not." I turned to her happily. "It's so cool,   
like a mystery. Just like that award winning book, Fairy Lights. Can you imagine a real   
fairy?" Rika rolled her cocoa coloured eyes in annoyance. "This isn't a book, Naoko-chan,"  
she told me firmly. "You mean to tell me that you actually believe Yamazaki-kun's story?"  
  
"Yamazaki-kun didn't tell it, it was Hiiragizawa-kun," I reminded her. "And you know how   
he's usually right with his facts. Like, remember he said that this is the longest day of the  
year? He was right?" I pointed at the sunset, which was only now sitting on the horizon   
-- at 9:00 at night.   
Rika sighed. "Okay, okay, but we've been through practically the whole park, there  
can't be any 'fairies' here."  
"It's Midsummer's Eve, isn't it?" I shot back, pulling apart a tree brush and searching.  
"You never know, I mean, this is THEIR night?"  
  
"We've been through 12 Midsummer's Eves in our lifetime, Naoko-chan," she replied with   
strained patience. "Have you ever seen a fairy?"  
I frowned and refused to reply to that. Well, I hadn't ever seen a dragon or a real  
ghost in my life either, but did I ever give up hoping?  
  
We were quiet for a minute, which was good, since I didn't think that the fairies would  
really come out if we were talking. Did I really believe in them? Well, I didn't believe in  
them as much as I wanted to tell myself I believed in them. Of course, I'm all for finding  
mythical creatures, after all, if I proved that fairies existed, who could tell me that  
dragons didn't?  
  
A few dragonflies drifted by, their wings shimmering with the reflected light of the dying  
sun. I stared after them for a moment, suddenly feeling a very strange sensation...I   
don't know what it was, but I had definetly never felt it before. I glanced over at Rika,  
trying to tell if she could feel it too. She was holding a hand to her head, which meant  
she must feel SOMETHING...but then again, it could have just been annoyance.  
  
"Okay Naoko-chan," she compromised. "We'll search until.." she checked her watch.   
"9:30. If we haven't found anything, I'm going back to the carnival." She groaned. "I   
don't even know why I let you talk me into these things."  
I grinned at her. "'Cause you're my best friend, of course," I said sweetly. "Now if we're  
leaving at 9:30, then get searching, now!"  
  
At that instant, the sun went down completely.   
  
  
  
  
~Normal POV~  
  
  
  
  
A group of hidden figures whom had remained secluded in the forest until the given  
time, now came out of their hiding, night's shadows somewhat concealing the identical  
wicked, mischevious, almost impish smiles that swept across their faces. The sun was  
down on Midsummer's Eve. It was their moment to shine.  
Now the fun would begin.  
  
  
  
  
~Takashi's POV~  
  
  
  
  
I had half a mind to go home right now. This carnival was really stupid, and I just wasn't  
having fun. If I hadn't promised Chiharu's mother that I would bring her home, then I  
honestly would have left right then.  
  
Okay, I wasn't in the best mood. To be truthful, there was nothing wrong with the  
festival, it was what was wrong with me. Or with Chiharu, or both of us, whatever.  
Yes, I was mad at her. Yes, she had finally succeeded in pissing me off. Impossible  
task, she had always dubbed it. Was it so imposssible? Right now I was living proof  
that it wasn't.  
  
But I still felt as if I should be the one to apologize for something. Yet WHAT, I had  
no clue. Maybe it was just for aggravating her. So I decided to go find her.  
  
Well, she wasn't around the carnival, to my knowledge. I had been around the entire  
midway many times, and hadn't seen her. She had mentioned going to look for Naoko  
and Rika, and they were in the forest. I quickly made my way through the trees.  
  
It would be so much more difficult walking around in the dark then it had been when the  
sun was up. At least, that's the way I THOUGHT it would have been. But strange. It  
was as if the forest was almost...aglow, with an inner light of some kind. There were  
glowing little dots in the air, probably just fireflies. But they were mixed with a strange  
shimmering dust-like substance. I had to stop for an instant and just look at it in   
surprise and awe; it looked every inch the way I had stereotypically pictured Mid-  
summer's Eve to be. Maybe it was something set up by the city council. Cool, how   
they made the forest glow like this, with an almost hidden light.  
I didn't pay attention when I started to feel just a little strange...  
  
I started walking again, eyeing the woods around me in fascination. Then I walked  
right into someone, and we both fell down. I quickly jumped to my feet, apologizing  
swiftly. "I'm sorry, it's so dark in this forest, I couldn't see where--"  
"Yamazaki-kun?"  
  
I quit rambling as I recognized Rika's voice. "Oh hey Rika-chan, what are you doing here?  
Where's Naoko-chan?"  
Rika grumbled something under her breath, which didn't sound like she was saying   
pleasant things about Naoko. Then she suddenly cut off completely, and stiffened, her  
eyes wide. I was worried. "Rika-chan?"  
  
"Takashi-kun." Her voice was a low whisper, and she turned her mocha coloured eyes  
on me, which glittered and deepened in the glow from the forest. Wait a minute -- did  
she just call me "Takashi-kun"? Rika and I were close, but not THAT close. Besides,  
what about Terada-sensei..?   
"Rika-chan, are you alright?"  
  
She stepped closer to me, and began tracing light patterns on my chest, almost...  
seductively. But wait..I had always thought that Rika didn't even know how to be  
seductive. I raised an eyebrow at her strange behaviour; this was getting a little too  
weird.  
Yet weird or not, Rika definetly must know how to seduce. I was starting to feel  
really, really strange in my chest, almost as if my heart were beating...a little harder?  
It was being very loud about it too.  
  
"I'm alright Takashi-kun," she said in a small voice, with a little smile at me..but what  
WAS that in her eyes? "I'm better now that you're here, though."  
I subconsiously took a step back -- that had definetly sounded like a come-on. From  
RIKA?? This girl had been like a little sister to me, for ..forever. It was like that with  
everyone else; with her shy personality, and calm happiness, you just naturally felt  
a sense to protect her.  
  
Actually, she wasn't all bad...  
I quickly shook my head to chase away the thoughts. Geez, whatever sickness had  
gotten to her, it must be contagious.  
"Rika-chan? What's wrong with you?" I asked in a confused tone. Was I ever confused.  
She giggled lightly, stepping even closer to me, so her mink-brown hair lightly brushed  
my cheek...and her hair was really short, so we were definetly standing too close.  
  
"I told you Takashi-kun, there is absolutely nothing wrong, now that you're here," she  
repeated in a flirtatious tone.  
I shook my head, feeling a strange urge to roll my eyes. "Rika-chan?"  
"Have I ever told you how amazing your eyes look in the glow of night?" she continued,  
her face only inches from mine.  
  
Oh man, I was going to need some help here. Still, her comments were strangely   
pleasing me..  
"Yeah right," I muttered, taking another step back. "Look, Rika-chan...what about  
Terada-sensei?" I just kind of blurted that out without thinking, but it WAS one of the  
many questions on my mind. I waited for her surprised reaction. She always thought  
that no one knew about her feelings for Terada-sensei, but in truth we all knew.  
  
I was the one who ended up being surprised, as she gave another strange giggle.  
"What about him?" she whispered quietly, stepping even closer. She gave me a smile..  
and I couldn't help it. I blushed when she smiled at me like that, her sundress fluttering  
ever so slightly in the wind. Once again acting subconsciously, I placed my hands on  
her shoulders lightly. A wave of dizziness overtook me. All the cells in my brain were   
telling me to push her away, this wasn't right...something was terribly wrong..  
  
"Rika," I murmured, not even realizing when I'd left out the "-chan". "I-I can't...I came  
here looking for Chiharu-" My mind was trying to stay on track, really, but I didn't even  
know if the words that came out of my mouth were intelligable.  
"But why?" she asked in a little voice, that was just so cute to me right then. And I  
seriously pondered Rika's question -- why was I looking for Chiharu again? I honestly  
couldn't remember. And it didn't matter right then. A strange realization came to me.  
Midsummer's Eve...  
  
I just succumbed to whatever power was driving the world to craziness, right then.  
"I don't know," I whispered back to Rika, giving her a little smirk, as I lightly pushed  
her against a tree trunk. "'Cause all I want right now is to be here with you."  
  
  
  
  
~Naoko's POV~  
  
  
  
  
"Rika-chan? Rika-chan!" I called out, hoping my friend would hear me. Yeah right, she  
was probably out of the forest by now. It WAS 9:30 by then, but still...I couldn't   
believe she had left just when things were starting to get exciting, and we were   
finally getting somewhere in our search.  
  
Yes, I think we were getting somewhere with the case of the Midsummer Eve mystery.  
I had noticed when the forest had suddenly started glowing once the sun went down,  
and all the pretty coloured things had suddenly swept up and were now floating gently  
on the wings of the wind.   
  
Okay, yeah, maybe this was something cooked up by the town council, but so what?!  
I didn't have to believe that if I didn't want to.  
Of course, I was only interested in the magical side of Midsummer's Eve. I wasn't at  
all interested in the romance stuff, not me.  
  
But apparently, some people were.  
  
I was still searching around when I saw 2 people leaning against a willow tree,   
completely engrossed with each other. I made a face; great, another teenaged couple   
making out. I REALLY needed to see that. But then I noticed something; the 2 seemed   
to be about my age. Then I noticed something else -- the boy was Takashi!   
  
I stared at him for a minute in complete abashment -- Takashi, making out with a  
girl?? Sorry, but I just couldn't form a mental picture.  
Then, I remembered his and Eriol's story about Midsummer's Eve, or rather, the   
romantic half of it. At that same instant, I also remembered just WHO seemed to have  
a huge crush on Takashi, and vice versa. How could I forget?  
  
I cocked my head sheepishly, sweatdropping. Then I smiled as I watched the pair. I  
was so glad that Chiharu and Takashi had met their dream. I always thought that   
they were such a cute couple, and they must have been good because I didn't even  
like to think about couples that much. But it was easy to see how they made each  
other so happy...  
  
And then, I was shocked into surprise again for the second time in less than 2 minutes.  
Takashi suddenly shifted, and revealed the girl he was with. And it wasn't Chiharu. It   
was Rika.  
  
My hand barely made it to my mouth in time to stifle my yelp of surprise as I simply  
goggled at the 2. Then again, I doubt that if I had even screamed at the top of my  
lungs, they would even glance my way, they were so engrossed into each other.  
Uh...okay, this was getting VERY strange. Rika..and Takashi? Had the 2 ever shown  
anything beyond friendship? No way. Not with the way Rika had a world-record crush  
on Terada-sensei. But the Rika in Takashi's arms looked like she didn't even know that  
she and Terada-sensei were in the same galaxy, let alone in the same town.  
  
The Midsummer Night thing! I suddenly realized, flooded with excitement. Just maybe  
that was what was going on around here. But that would mean that the fairy-tale  
was real! Either these 2 were alien replicas of my friends, or there was some major  
fairy work going on here.   
Actually, either one worked for me. They were both unnatural species.  
  
I suddenly calmed down as I contemplated what Chiharu's reaction to this just might  
be. I also noticed that I was starting to feel strangely lightheaded, and really funny.  
But I barely had time to dwell on any of this before I heard a familiar voice behind me.  
"Naoko-chan? Have you seen Sakura anywhere around here?" Syaoran asked from  
behind me.  
  
I shook my head, then pointed to Rika and Takashi, feeling unbearably confused. I   
wanted to see his reaction to this. "Tell me Li-kun, has reality fallen asleep at the  
wheel and smacked into the twilight zone, or is it just me and this is perfectly norm.."  
  
I don't know what it was, or what happened to me then. But it happened, and it was  
like...I couldn't even describe it. I just turned around to face Syaoran..and any words  
that had been coming out of my mouth just literally died in my throat, really died, as  
if they had been stabbed or shot or whatever. I honestly think I lost my voicebox right  
then. That wasn't the only thing I'd lost..I'd completely lost all my senses too, fallen  
victim to whatever crazy thing that had taken Rika and Takashi.  
  
He just looked so desirable standing there in the glow of fireflies and mystery dust,  
auburn chestnut hair which fell slightly into amber eyes like bottomless pools that you   
could drown in forever, yet glittering every emotion he was feeling..and I was hoping that  
he would feel a very special emotion..but toward me.  
  
Syaoran caught sight of the pair under the willow, and his expression just read out,  
"Okay, this is too weird". I giggled out loud; the look on his face was so adorably  
confused and bewildered, and I loved the way I was able to read him at that moment.  
  
"Naoko-chan? I can tell you right now that this is NOT normal behaviour. I mean, the  
most that these 2 have ever displayed of any romantic interest is Rika-chan sharing  
her lunch with Yamazaki-kun ONCE..." He suddenly broke off, looking at me straight  
for the first time since he had approached me. Approached me...maybe he DID feel  
something for me? I mean, he had come to me for help right? The wild sense of   
hopefulness I felt right then were indescribable. But then, so were half my other  
feelings. I had never had the sensation where you feel so removed from yourself,   
while at the same time so aware of things. And believe me, I was VERY aware of him...  
  
"Uh Naoko-chan? Are you okay?" Syaoran asked, staring at me strangely. I loved the  
way he said my name. And I began acting on impulse.  
"Never felt better," I chirped sweetly, tilting my head to the side and giving him a  
smile.  
  
I didn't think I would ever forget the look that crossed his face right then; I almost  
passed out right there from his utter kawaiiness. Oh my gosh, he was just so...  
He took a step back, a surprised look on his face. "Naoko-chan? You're...not alright,  
are you?" Although it was posed as a question, it was more of a statement.  
  
I came closer, tossing my head lightly so that my light-brown hair caught the slim  
breeze. If he could feel the way I did...  
"Syaoran-kun?" I said in a small voice, enjoying the way his eyes went even wider  
in surprise when I said his real name. "Would you mind taking the "-chan" out when  
you say my name? It would sound so much better and make us so much closer.."  
  
Syaoran hurriedly backed away from me a few more steps, slightly pushing me away  
from him as I continued to gaze at him starry eyed. "N-naoko-chan," he began, and  
I giggled and hugged him quickly; he had just made my emotions go wilder when he  
stuttered..my heart was fluttering crazily. Christ, he was so KAWAII when he stuttered,  
and I wanted him to do it again.  
  
He quickly jumped back again, holding me at bay. His eyes shifted from mine, looking  
up at the sky, which was beginning to look like a glistening dark canopy. The heat  
rose in my cheeks as I watched the stars reflect in his eyes..this emotion was almost  
literally sweeping me away.  
  
"I think I know what's wrong with you," he said. "Sorry Naoko-chan, I can't go along  
with this. Because a) you'll see soon that this is all just a dream, an illusion. And b) I  
only feel this way about one person..."  
Although the newfound feeling had completely blotted out all my other logic, it hadn't  
fully succeeded with this one; I still remembered the looks that my love would throw  
to a certain emerald-eyed girl. But it didn't really change things for me. Oh no, if   
anything, I just fell deeper in love with him. But I DID get a huge flash of resentment  
against Kinomoto Sakura.  
  
"Syaoran-kun, I don't care about any of that," I told him, clutching his arm. He sweat-  
dropped, a slightly panicked look crossing his face. "Naoko-chan, I have to go." He  
turned and ran. But I wasn't letting him get away that easily. No, I loved this new  
emotion, I loved him... "Syaoran-kun, wait up, I'll come with you wherever you go!"  
  
  
  
  
~Syaoran's POV~  
  
  
  
  
I caught my breath as I stayed concealed within the leaves up in the oak tree,   
watching the love-crazy girl run by underneath. I let out a relieved sigh once she had  
disappeared from sight. Geez, who'd have ever guessed that Naoko could run so fast?  
  
That wasn't, though, what I needed to concentrate on. This had to be the work of a  
Clow Card -- what else could it possibly be? Rika and Takashi together and Naoko  
falling so deeply for me, Naoko who had to be one of the biggest tomboys I ever  
knew...this definetly wasn't stuff that happened every day. I knew I had been sensing  
something, even though I had never sensed a Clow Card like this..and I'd though   
Sakura had captured them all. It was a really strong card, I could feel that. But   
what kind of card was THIS, that toyed with people's emotions? I had never heard of  
a card that did that.  
  
Making sure Naoko wasn't anywhere around, I jumped down from the tree, exhaling  
deeply. Now I knew how Sakura's brother felt whenever he was being chased by Eriol's  
creation, Akizuki Nakuru. And even though I wasn't on the friendliest terms with him,  
I did have to sympathize with Kinomoto-san.  
  
I had to find Sakura, she was somewhere in this forest. I knew she had been sensing  
the Clow Card, but it was obviously very strong, and both of us were right in the war-  
path...my heart gave a strange kind of twist as I thought of her falling in love with  
someone, even if this WAS just an illusion.  
As it turned out, I was worried for the wrong person.  
  
I felt the strange sensation, probably the stuff in the air, which I knew was NOT set up  
by the city. But it didn't seem to matter that I already knew about what was going  
on, and the effects it was having on people; I still fell to the spell. And I knew the  
fact when I felt the warm, dizzying sensation as I caught sight of HER. Her long wavy,  
glossy dark violet hair which caught the slow wind as she took off her hat momentarily  
and shook out her hair, her jewel-amethyst eyes that shimmered with their own glow,  
and her creamy white skin which was kissed by the moonlight. And although this feeling  
was familiar to one I had felt before, while at the same time different, I didn't mind.  
  
  
  
  
~Tomoyo's POV~  
  
  
  
  
I was really getting worried; even without magical powers, I could sense that something  
wasn't quite right.   
After continuous rides on the roller coasters which had been at Meiling's insistence,  
neither Syaoran nor Sakura had come back. So I had persuaded Eriol to let us search  
for them, Meiling had backed me up, and Eriol had caved in and agreed. Mostly because,  
I think, even he didn't really know what the problem was.  
  
Still, I had been wandering around the forest for a while now; the sun seemed to have  
gone down ages ago, even though it must have only been less than an hour. I couldn't  
help but noticing the effect Midsummer's Eve had on people. It was almost just like  
Eriol had said -- boys and girls chasing each other, people falling in and out of love...  
But I don't think it ever occurred to me that it could happen to my best friends, too.  
  
I was looking around for Eriol, wanting to see if he had found anybody. At least, that's  
what I firmly told myself. I mean, we were all in this together...and I guess I was   
looking for Meiling too, right?  
  
I already knew by then that something was up. A little while ago, I had come across  
Rika and Takashi playfully teasing each other..and there was something about the  
way they were doing it that made me guess that it was more than just friendship.  
Heck, those 2 had been acting worse than some teenage couples.  
  
Then, just a few minutes ago, Naoko had streaked past me, calling out Syaoran's name.  
His REAL name to boot; there was definetly something in the air. Literally, I reminded  
myself, eyeing some of the "fireflies" closely. Strangest fireflies I had ever seen...but  
my chain of thought was broken by the voice behind me. "Tomoyo-chan."  
  
I whirled around, relief coursing a cross-country path through me. "Li-kun! Geez, I've  
been looking all OVER for you!"  
A strange kind of light entered his eyes, one that I had never seen before -- at least,  
never seen directed at ME before. But I realized where I recognized the look from; it  
was one he reserved for Sakura, and rarely, too.  
"You were looking for me?" he asked quietly, holding my gaze locked with his. I  
faltered slightly, there was something wrong with this picture. "Where's Sakura?" I  
asked hastily. "And have you seen Hiiragizawa-kun..?"  
  
He came close, pressing his finger over my mouth to silence me, his eyes still burning  
into mine. But it wasn't a fire of anger..although I would certainly take that over the  
fire that WAS in his eyes. The fire of passion, of..love. It was the look he would give  
Sakura sometimes too...  
  
"No, I haven't seen any of them," he murmured. "But that doesn't matter, does it?  
Because you're here..and I'm here. And that's all that matters."  
Uh-oh.  
My eyes went huge as I stared at him in shocked disbelief. Okay, if I knew Syaoran,  
this WASN'T HIM! I don't think the real Syaoran knew how to be that..uh..I guess the  
only word I could use was romantic..  
  
No, I couldn't do this to my best friend. Although she would act as if she couldn't care  
less, that it wouldn't matter to her if Syaoran went and jumped off the Tomoeda  
Tower, I knew Sakura would be devastated if she saw us like this..and I wouldn't   
betray her trust. Besides, I didn't like Syaoran this way, sure he was cute, but that  
just made me consider Sakura all the luckier for getting his heart, whether she knew it  
or not. And I knew he didn't like me that way either, this was some strange illusions of   
the heart. Lucky for me I had read 'A Midsummer's Night Dream'.  
  
I didn't want to hurt Syaoran's feelings, but we couldn't go like this. I quickly pulled  
away from him, doing my best to remain calm. "Li-kun," I said in a soothing yet firm  
voice, as if trying to get a child to be reasonable. "Listen to me. Something is making  
your heart play tricks on you. It's not me you love, we both know that. I think anyone  
who's met you and is not both blind and stone deaf knows that. This isn't real, Li-kun,  
but we're going to fix it just as soon as we find Eriol-kun and Sakura." I didn't bother  
to notice that I had said Eriol's real name. What if this thing had gotten to me too? No,  
it couldn't have, because I had been feeling this way toward the young all-powerful  
sorcerer for too long. Still...  
  
Syaoran was quiet for a moment, still locking our gazes, and then he spoke again.  
"If it's Sakura you're talking about, I don't feel anything for her in that sense. Tomoyo,   
I don't want this to end. And I bet you don't want it to, either."  
"You'd lose that bet," I muttered under my breath; I wanted all this to end more than  
anything, before...  
In a louder tone, I continued. "Syaoran-kun, believe me, you'll be much happier when  
this ends. Everyone will be; you know that some of the others are under this spell   
too?"  
  
Syaoran didn't even register my question, he just stared at me softly. "You..said my  
real name," he murmured. I wanted to kick myself. Since Syaoran was a good friend  
of mine by now, I sometimes switched between informal use of his name, and the  
formal way. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't even have noticed, but this  
didn't exactly qualify as normal circumstances.  
  
I sighed, rolling my eyes upward; this was just too strange, having all of Syaoran's  
affections thrown on me this way, when just 2 hours ago, it had been focused on  
Sakura. And I don't think she thought of it as strange. A little torturing, maybe,   
considering the way he showed his love for her, but I knew she still liked it, deep  
inside. And returned it. I wondered, was love always such a paradox?  
Shakespeare had spent a lot of time obssessing about the fact during his life, but  
he still hadn't solved the question. All he could come up with was that love was a  
dream, a fantasy...but even that didn't make sense. Because the love that Syaoran  
had for me right now was a dream, but the one between him and Sakura was real...  
one that I desperately wanted to have, but not with him, not like this.  
  
Then, the worst possible thing that could have happened, happened. Sakura.  
I was firmly plucking Syaoran's hands off my shoulders. "Li-kun--" I had begun. He  
leaned down and kissed me softly, which stunned me enough. But then she walked into   
the clearing. She stopped in her tracks, her jaw dropping open in shock, but I didn't see   
her until she spoke, her voice laced with disbelief and uncertainty. "Tomoyo? Syaoran-  
kun?"  
  
I froze, then whirled around to face her. "S-sakura!" I stammered. "Look, this isn't   
what it seems like--"  
Syaoran, on the other hand, just frowned at the honey-auburn haired girl. "Sakura,  
you just have the best timing, don't you?" he said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.  
Normally, Sakura would have snapped back a haughty comment at a remark like this.  
So I definetly knew things were bad when her face just paled as she locked his gaze  
too.  
You know, they had never said any real thing about players in 'A Midsummer's Night  
Dream'...not that I cared, though.  
  
"That means...you and Tomoyo.." Sakura couldn't even get out a full sentence, not  
that we could really hear it anyway, she was whispering.  
I still caught it. "No!" I shouted quickly. "Listen Sakura, you've been sensing something,  
right?"  
"Yeah," she said slowly, turning to me with a clouded, hidden look in her normally   
vibrant, evergreen eyes.   
"Eriol's been sensing it too," I pushed on, desperate to make her understand that I   
would never betray her this way. "And the others--"  
  
Syaoran turned to me boldly. "I love you Tomoyo," he stated.  
Sakura was furiously trying to hold back tears, I could see; she looked as though she  
had been stabbed in the heart. Which was probably equal, if not less, to the pain she  
was probably feeling right now. I knew first rate how that was; I had experienced it  
the first time I had ever noticed the way Sakura and Syaoran would react around each  
other. A certain someone had helped me out of the pain, but it definetly wasn't some-  
thing I wanted Sakura-chan to feel...  
  
Sakura gave Syaoran a sad little smile that almost broke my heart right then and there.  
Seemed there were a lot of heartbreaks going around tonight.  
"Well, I'm happy for you Syaoran-kun," she murmured softly. "I hope she returns your  
feelings."  
"Sakura, wait! Just what is that supposed to mean?" I demanded, but she was already  
gone, dashing through the trees.  
  
Syaoran stared in the direction she had gone, blinking slowly. I heard him whisper her  
name..and I should have heard the almost wistful tone of it, almost as if he were  
coming back to his senses, as if he were speaking from his true heart, and what was  
really in it, through the drugged-up effects of whatever spell was on him. I would have   
heard it, if my senses hadn't been so clouded by anger. Really, I don't think I had ever   
gotten that furious at him.  
  
I shoved him away from me, all thoughts of staying calm and reasonable fleeing   
instantly. "How could you do that, Syaoran-kun?" I shouted. "How could you lie to  
us like that?"  
He turned back to me, the fire burning back in his eyes. "It wasn't a lie," he said   
insistently in a low whisper, coming toward me. I quickly backed up a few steps,  
then turned on my heel and started walking away. "Look Li-kun, I've got to go."  
Of course, he still followed me. That would have been too easy, wouldn't it?  
  
  
  
  
~Eriol's POV~  
  
  
  
  
Sighing, I leaned against a tree as I watched scenes unfold from what was literally  
like a remake of Shakespeare's comedy play that took place on this very night. I'd like  
to see Chiharu-chan call Yamazaki-kun a liar ever again, I thought, watching Rika and  
Takashi run by, Takashi chasing her in a teasing game. Then I turned my eyes to  
Naoko, who ran behind me, her face flushed and her eyes looking almost radioactive,  
they were so starry. "Syaoran-kun, where ARE you?" she called yet again, running off  
in the direction opposite the one Takashi and Rika had just gone in. I winced; she had  
gotten it worst than the rest of them, since she had always been so anti-romance.  
I had to wonder how long she could keep up the 'fond chase', as Shakespeare had  
once quoted a similar situation.  
  
They all looked so deeply in love. But I knew it wasn't love at all, it was a trick being  
played by one of my creations. I think I knew which one. I had been confused when  
I had entered the forest, because I had never really bonded with THIS particular card,  
not at all. I hadn't even really been the one who made it. But all I'd had to do was  
observe what was going on in the magic-enchanted forest, and there was no doubt  
in my mind. I bet Ruby Moon was having a field day in all this. As if she didn't get  
enough of a chance to chase boys without the help of an enchanted night.  
  
The problem was, this spirit had an incredibly mischevious streak, jumping at the slight-  
est chance to cause trouble. And it's power was very strong, he could feel it. And I  
knew that even I might crumble under the spell, which meant that the 2 cardcaptors  
Syaoran and Sakura, were no exception to the normal guys this time, they were all  
equally vulnerable. This may not seem like such a big deal, since the card didn't exactly  
HARM people physically...but sometimes emotional scars were a thousand times worse  
than physical ones. And that's why I was so worried, because I knew of all the already-  
fragile emotions of some of my friends toward each other, hint hint. And also, about  
a certain violet haired, purple-eyed girl with an aura of lavender and plum blossoms.  
And no, my feelings toward this special girl were not induced by the card in the forest...  
but I think I slightly wished they were, so that I would at least know WHAT had brought  
it on, and what had made me, the most powerful sorcerer in creation, so vulnerable..  
again.  
  
It has happened before. Mizuki Kaho. But that hadn't exactly worked out the greatest.  
  
"Eriol-kun?"  
I whirled to face Meiling, who had somehow just appeared next to my side without me  
noticing. I must have been really occupied...funny how SHE did that to me sometimes.  
"Oh hello Meiling-chan," I said nonchantly; I don't know why I didn't suspect anything  
from the start. I mean really, she'd called me "Eriol-kun".  
"I'm guessing you haven't found either Sakura-chan nor my cute descendant, hmm?" I  
continued.  
  
My raven-haired descendant giggled lightly, and THAT'S when I started to get  
suspicious. A bit too late, maybe?  
"Nooo," she said liltingly, coiling a lock of dark hair around her finger in an almost child-  
like manner. The look on her face was anything but childlike, though. "But I have seen  
some of the others..seems like there's some kind of magic in the air, don't you think?  
And even I can feel it." Her ruby eyes searched my own ones, glinting with flirtatious  
playfulness. Her voice lowered to an almost-whisper. "And I really like this kind of   
magic," she finished suggestively. Oh great...  
  
I debated whether to play along with her, but then quickly decided against it. I couldn't  
do that, it wouldn't be fair to her, nor to Tomoyo...of course, I didn't have any real  
ties to Tomoyo though..  
"Meiling-chan, not you too!" I sighed, looking up at the night sky. It had to be maybe   
10:30 by now.   
  
Meiling watched me, and I noticed that she forgot to breathe for a moment. Then her  
face flushed in awe as she met my eyes again. "Do that again," she breathed. "Look  
up at the sky. Oh my God, you looked sooo kawaii when you did that!"  
I sweatdropped, watching her strangely. This was not good. Okay, I had to handle  
this carefully, because even in this state hearts could still be broken. My mind   
momentarily flashed to Chiharu, wondering if she knew about Takashi and the  
girl she considered a best friend, before I quickly returned to the matter at hand.  
  
"Meiling-chan.." I began, but then quickly trailed off -- the reasonable approach was not  
one that was going to work, I could see that in the way she was looking at me. Well,  
that only left the hard way. At least it wasn't the hardest way. At least I wasn't playing  
her.  
  
"Meiling-chan, I'm sorry, I just can't do this with you," I said, trying to plan everything   
out. I just decided to speak the truth; with luck, she wouldn't even remember what I'd   
told her about after all this was over. "I care about someone else--"  
Meiling stomped her foot in what seemed like anger. "It's not fair, Eriol-kun! I can  
make you a much better offer than Sakura-chan can!"  
"Sakura-chan?" I echoed in surprise. I wanted to burst out laughing, but she was  
already in the middle of an emotional outburst, and I didn't want to drive her over the  
edge.  
I noticed absently another thing about the paradoxical enchantment: it wasn't letting  
people who were really in love get together.  
  
"Yes!" Meiling exclaimed. "It really isn't fair, and I try sometimes not to hate her, but  
it's not easy, because I've lost everyone to her! Syaoran loves her, you love her! I  
can't--"  
"Meiling-chan, relax," I said, placing my hands gently on her shoulders, realizing my  
mistake when she looked at them and blushed. I quickly pulled them away and sighed.  
"Don't worry, it's not Sakura-chan I care for. Well, I do care about her of course, but  
not in THAT way...only one person will ever be able to do that to me.."  
  
Right then, Tomoyo came running out of a grove of trees next to us, stopping short  
when she saw us, a little out of breath. Her face lit up with relief when she caught  
sight of us, and I could only stare, the effects of the moonlight making her already  
angelic face seem dreamlike.  
  
"Hiiragizawa-kun, Meiling-chan!" she exclaimed. "God, I've been looking all over for  
you! Look, there is something really messed up going on in this forest, and I think it's  
happening in the carnival too..." she trailed off suddenly, glancing closer at Meiling  
and I, a puzzled and somewhat hurt expression sweeping her face. I quickly jumped  
back from Meiling. "Daidouji-san, this isn't what you think--" I began. Meiling was  
scrutinizing mine and Tomoyo's reactions, and then she scowled.   
  
"I don't care if you do love Tomoyo-chan, Eriol-kun, I still love you," she said, clutching  
onto my arm. "I can make you a much better offer than she can, too."  
It was amazing how fast the blood came to Tomoyo's usually pale cheeks, and I   
could feel my own face burning up. Strange, I hadn't blushed in the longest time...  
Well, I learned one thing; Meiling wasn't exactly the best person to have around in  
already awkward situations.  
  
She faced me, coming closer and tracing her finger around my chest. "You can't fight  
it, Eriol-kun, there IS something between us. You'll see."  
This just kept getting better, didn't it? Out of the corner of my eye, I could see  
Tomoyo back away slowly.  
  
Then the moment was interrupted, but not by the best thing.   
Syaoran came dashing out of the trees, from the same direction Tomoyo had just  
come. He smirked lightly when he caught site of her, which only made Tomoyo back  
away even faster. "Li-kun--"  
He pushed her gently against a tree. "See? I knew I'd find you again, it's fated."  
  
Meiling's jaw dropped at the sight, and I couldn't blame her; I was staring at Syaoran  
too as if he'd grown about 10 extra heads. Okay, NOW things were starting to get  
just a little out of control...the magic had gotten to Syaoran, too? If HE could break,  
then...uh oh.  
  
Syaoran was still holding the struggling Tomoyo, so I decided to rescue her; I was  
feeling a little uncomfortable with the scene, for more reasons than one.   
"Li, where's Sakura-chan?" I demanded. With her as the Clow Mistress, this Clow Card   
might decide to dish out something extra special for her..the thought worried me.  
  
Syaoran didn't look like he even remembered who Sakura was, since he was just  
looking at me blankly, but a flash of anger entered Tomoyo's eyes and she tore herself  
away from him. "Probably off somewhere, heartbroken," she declared. "Syaoran-kun  
said he loved me, right in front of her!"  
  
I had to admit, even though this was serious, things were getting interesting. I decided  
to go find Sakura, because it seemed that the magic was getting stronger...the  
substances in the night air where thickening and brightening. No wonder Shakespeare  
had been able to write a play about strange happenings tonight, I thought, watching  
Takashi and Rika run by yet again, this time her chasing him. I was surprised he hadn't  
written a bestseller novel about this. I remembered that Naoko hadn't been too far  
away from the other 2; if Syaoran was smart, he would get out of here now. But his  
brain cells weren't exactly working full-time right now.  
  
"Syaoran, you love Tomoyo-chan?? Not Sakura-chan?" Meiling exclaimed, her voice high.   
Then her crimson amber eyes suddenly gleamed with excited triumph. "There Eriol-kun,  
see? Tomoyo-chan's already in love with someone--"  
Tomoyo gasped as I turned to face her, quickly shooting her gaze to Meiling, her  
eyes flashing a royal purple in anger. And she looked so cute right then...  
  
God, this was really getting to me. Well, at least it wasn't making me fall in love with  
Chiharu or Syaoran or somebody. Yet. Where WAS Chiharu, anyway? She was the only  
one of us that I hadn't seen in the forest yet, but if she'd found Takashi and Rika...  
I winced; major heartbreak.  
"I am not!" Tomoyo denied, appalled. Syaoran grabbed her hands and turned her to face  
him, look directly into each other's eyes. "Tell me you're not," he challenged softly.  
"I--" she began immediately, but I quickly made a gesture to her from behind Syaoran's  
back. "Careful Daidouji-san, wouldn't want to break his heart. That's not something  
that heals easily," I said smoothly. For a minute, it seemed as if tears had sprung up  
in Tomoyo's eyes. "Hiiragizawa-kun..."  
  
I pretended not to hear; I was NOT going to get mixed up in her personal life. "I'm  
going to find Sakura-chan," I continued, already walking away. "Try to stay out of  
trouble."  
"Eriol-kun, wait!" I heard Meiling call after me, and I knew she was chasing me. But  
of course, she wouldn't find me, I was already gone by then; there are advantages  
to being a powerful magician sometimes.  
  
I couldn't help but think what was going on back there between Syaoran and Tomoyo.  
I knew Tomoyo would never hurt her best friend, but if the chance came up, like now...  
Of course, I couldn't blame him for wanting her.  
  
  
  
  
~Rika's POV~  
  
  
  
  
Although I was getting slightly tired, I was having the best time. Takashi was only a  
few feet away now...with a final running leap, I was able to jump on him from behind,  
throwing my arms around his neck and making us both tumble to the ground, giggling  
the whole time.  
  
He sat up, and now I was in his lap leaning against his chest. Completely accidental,  
maybe, but I wasn't complaining...  
"You put up a really good chase, Rika," he said softly, tenderly brushing a lock of my  
chestnut hair away from my eyes. I giggled again; I seemed to be doing that a lot  
tonight. "Can I say the same for you, Takashi?"  
  
It was definetly the most magical night of my life. I looked up at Takashi's  
face, his extremely dark eyes reflecting every light that was around us, forest light  
and starlight, making it like looking through a telescope into the universe. My breath  
got lodged in my throat; God he was just so gorgeous to me right then, totally   
bishounen. My face was heating up.. so this was what love was? I could definetly  
get used to the feeling. Had I ever felt this way before? I couldn't remember...  
  
I don't even know how or when I'd started feeling this way, hard to believe it had  
only been mere hours ago, it felt like an eternity. But all I knew was that this felt so  
right, and I knew it was that way for both of us. He hadn't told me any stories at all  
tonight, maybe he didn't want to lie to me..that must mean that he really cared, right?  
  
"You're beautiful, Rika-chan," he said in a low voice, tracing a path down my cheek  
with his index finger and igniting an electric charge that I felt all through my body. And  
my heart just melted right then and there, for about the 9th time that night. I laid  
my head against his chest, feeling it rise and fall gently. "I thought we agreed to keep  
the -chan out of my name," I reminded him teasingly. He grinned sheepishly. "Oh yeah,  
I forgot."  
  
Of course, through all the stuff that was going on around us, it was going to extract  
pain out of someone, I knew that. But I just completely forgot, about my other best  
friend, Chiharu. I didn't think about how much this would hurt her, I completely forgot  
about her own feelings toward her childhood friend...which quickly became a problem,  
in the next moment.  
  
"Takashi-kun! Yamazaki Takashi, you'd better get out here in 3 seconds, or--"  
I recognized Chiharu's voice, through a strange dreamy haze. Of course, there was  
a reason why she had stopped her sentence so abruptly; she'd seen us. She froze in  
her tracks, staring at the 2 of us as I pulled slightly back from Takashi and looked back  
at her. The look on her face was a hint of disbelief, mixed with shock. "Takashi-kun?"  
she asked uncertainly. "Uh..I was looking for you..."  
  
"Can I help you with something, Mihara-chan?" Takashi asked coolly, looking back at  
her, the faintest trace of annoyance in his voice, annoyance being something neither  
of us had ever heard from him before. Chiharu put on her own annoyed mask, even  
though it worked poorly to conceal her surprised hurt.  
  
"Yeah, I've only been looking for you for about 3 hours, and--" she cut off once again  
as his words sank in. I had never seen the colour drain from someone's face so quickly.  
But it wasn't like I could hold it against her. "What did you call me?" she whispered,  
taking a tiny step back.  
  
I understood. Chiharu and Takashi had been friends since toddlerhood, and had been  
on a first name basis with each other from practically the first day they'd met. I couldn't  
blame her for being stunned. Not only that, I knew that it must also hurt..I suddenly  
remembered Chiharu's real feelings for her long-time friend. Which was a problem,   
because he was mine now. Besides, he had told me how she had already hurt him once  
tonight, so it was HER loss.  
This wasn't like me at all...  
  
Takashi, on the other hand, didn't seem to remember any of the things I did. Sheesh,  
and they had happened to HIM, not me. He tilted his head to the side, a slightly   
puzzled look on his face. "I called you Mihara-chan, of course. Is there something  
wrong with--"  
  
"Takashi-kun, what's the matter with you?" she cried in an almost fearful tone, taking  
a step forward this time. "What happened?" Then her light hazelnut eyes shifted to  
me, and back to him, then to me again. "Rika-chan...is there something going on that  
I should know about..?"  
  
I shrugged nonchantly. "Sure, if you want," I replied flippantly. Takashi rolled his eyes  
to the star-studded sky. "If you don't mind Mihara-chan, Rika and I were kind of busy,"  
he said pointedly. Chiharu placed her hands on her hips, giving him a poor replica of  
her usual annoyed glare. "What, were you telling her more lies?"  
  
Okay, that got me kind of mad. I stood up and faced her in annoyance, knowing that  
this was not like me in the least. "For your information, Chiharu-chan, Takashi hasn't  
told me any stories at all tonight. We've been having too much fun. Maybe he only  
tells lies with the company he keeps, wouldn't you say?" I told her with a slightly cold  
tone, although coldness was practically an alien emotion to me. I also couldn't resist  
that little stab; she deserved it. She was always shouting at Takashi, hitting him  
whenever he told his stories, always acting so POed around him, when not even   
considering once that maybe SHE was the one who drove him to telling the lies.  
  
Chiharu definetly felt the stab, probably even stronger than I had meant to give it  
to her. She also noticed that Takashi had allowed me to use his real name. She flinched   
very noticeably, the moonlight reflecting pain in her eyes. "I..." she trailed off, her voice   
just dying out.  
  
"If you must know, Mihara-chan, I'm in love with Rika," Takashi stated bluntly, taking  
my hand. I glanced at him with a smile, one that threatened to falter when I saw my  
friend's reaction.  
  
Chiharu's eyes went huge, and her face was now positively ashen. She was staring  
at Takashi as if in a stunned daze, taking a few steps backward again. "I...you're..  
you're in love..with her?" she repeated in a barely audible voice. I felt sympathy, and  
yes, a few twinges of guilt. I could practically feel her heart tearing up inside of her,  
the pain so evident on her face. But it was her own fault, she had let him go...  
  
Of course, if I had been in my normal state of mind, I would have been feeling oceans  
of guilt and sadness at what I was inflicting on my best friend. But I didn't want to be  
in a normal state of mind; right then I just wanted to be with Takashi.  
  
"I'm in love with him too," I told her matter of factly. Her eyes shifted to me again  
briefly, and the betrayal in them was awful...but it didn't really register to me.  
"Rika-chan...how could you?" she whispered, finally allowing the tears to spring to her  
eyes. "I..I told you how I felt about him, I trusted you..."  
  
"You hurt him!" I countered, frowning in anger. "He told me how you hurt him earlier  
this evening, people don't hurt the ones they love."  
Takashi momentarily blinked, and he began eyeing Chiharu with what might have been  
curiousity..   
I didn't notice, and continued. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. He obviously doesn't care  
about you much if he can call you 'Mihara-chan', can he?" I asked her with a smirk.  
  
Yet another stab in her heart, and she slowly turned to Takashi. "You...do you mean  
that, Takashi-kun?" she wanted to know quietly. I had never heard her speak this   
way, in such a quiet timid voice. She was usually so outspoken and loud.  
  
He just shrugged. "I don't say things I don't mean, Mihara-chan," he said offhandedly.  
"No matter what you think."  
Chiharu nodded slowly, lowering her eyes to the ground, and I almost cringed at the  
pain evident in every movement she made. "Alright...Yamazaki-kun," she said, choking  
the words out. "I...I guess I'll see you around." Then she just bolted back the way  
she came. I had never seen her move so fast.  
  
Takashi pulled me back down to the ground, but it was an absent movement, his eyes  
were still lingering off in the way Chiharu had gone. But then he turned to me again,  
and all thoughts of the tangerine-haired girl left his mind.  
  
  
  
  
~Chiharu's POV~  
  
  
  
  
I couldn't run anymore, I had about 17 stitches in my side, and so I involuntarily  
collasped under an umbrella-like tree, the wetness still streaking down my face. To  
be honest, I didn't feel the physical pain at all...because my emotional turmoil was  
physical enough for me. I couldn't remember ever having hurt this much. So this was  
what hearbreak was...  
  
I had lost him, he hated me. What hurt more was that I had lost him to my best friend,  
one that I had trusted so much, that I had practically trusted with my life. I never  
imagined that shy little Rika could be so...conniving, so mean...and what hurt most  
was that I knew the truth; it was all my fault.  
  
I frantically tried to wipe my eyes, looking up at the midnight sky; it was probably 11:00  
by now. Hopefully. I just didn't want to stay here anymore.   
  
Something strange had started happening back at the carnival, I had noticed. People  
had started chasing each other around, falling in and out of love like nuts. There was  
something in the air. So I had come into the forest, for 2 reasons. The first one being  
I was trying to find Naoko and Rika, see what they had accomplished. I was actually  
starting to believe that they might have uncovered something for real, because what  
had started happening back in the carnival sounded suspiciously like the tale of   
Midsummer's Eve which Eriol and Takashi had told us. Meaning Takashi had been right,  
for once...  
  
Which led me into my second reason for being here. Of course, I was going to find him  
and apologize to him for everything I'd said earlier, no matter what. But I had also  
wanted to point out that he might have been onto something with his latest tale. Then,  
I had found him with her...and words couldn't describe the pain at all. Cruelty couldn't  
compare in the least. All I knew was that I was so sorry...  
  
I knew I didn't always show it. I knew I was always so mean to him, always shouting  
at him, he always aggravated me..but I cared about him so much at the same time,  
I was in love, and I don't think anyone had ever been in love like this before. I liked to  
think that I did all this out of love for him, but according to THEIR comments, whether  
intentional or not....I was just being a witch...and now he would hate me forever.  
  
My head suddenly shot up in realization; Takashi had fallen under the spell of Mid-  
summer's Eve, just like in Shakespeare's play! Well of course, I had known that some-  
thing was majorly wrong once I had seen Takashi and Rika together, the most   
romantic thing they had ever done was play tag or beach volleyball together..and most  
of the time, the rest of us were also included in the game.  
  
I nodded slowly to myself, feeling the slightest bit better that this was not something  
that had happened totally on Rika and Takashi's part. Still, I didn't think anything  
could stop the pain...I wondered if anyone else was feeling the side effects of this  
fantasy..  
  
  
  
  
~Sakura's POV~  
  
  
  
  
Yes, I was in heartache too, just like Chiharu was, although that was unbeknownst to  
me. I hadn't moved from the spot where I had huddled in about an hour. I just curled  
into myself tightly, tears tumbling from my eyes, trying to shut out the pain and the  
reality of what was happening...and I had been like this ever since I had seen him and  
her. How long ago had that been?  
  
I was aware of the fact that there was a Clow Card doing major damage around here.  
I could sense it, and I knew it was getting stronger. But I hadn't been aware of just  
what it was doing until I'd seen my best friend with Syaoran, and then after that I  
was just too choked up with pain...so I still didn't know EXACTLY what was going on  
in the forest. Some kind of love spell or something...but what kind of Clow Card did  
this?  
  
To me, all of these were just sidethoughts, to the biggest turmoil in my head -- Tomoyo  
and Syaoran were together. The thought just killed, it hurt so much. I knew that  
Tomoyo really had nothing to do with this -- she couldn't have, not with the look on  
her face when she was looking at Syaoran. Still, that didn't really matter, because all  
I could see was the way he had been looking at her...so different from the way he  
would look at me.  
  
Of course, at that time I wasn't aware that there was much difference between the  
looks.  
  
Why did I have to care so much? Why couldn't I just forget about him? Was I so  
hopeless to fall for someone who couldn't care less about me?   
  
I suddenly heard footsteps dashing up to me, and then Naoko poked her head around  
the tree trunk. There was a distinct disliking in her eyes as she looked at me, but I  
bet I could guess why it was there. I wasn't a complete idiot, I had seen Takashi  
and Rika run past me earlier. Of course, they hadn't noticed me. The way they were  
so wrapped up in each other, they wouldn't notice if a tidal wave suddenly drowned  
the whole town. And I had felt such a pang of sympathy toward Chiharu..she would  
probably go through the same thing I was, if she wasn't already. What I knew for sure  
was that no one deserved to go through this.  
  
"Kinomoto-san, where is Syaoran-kun?" Naoko demanded. I winced slightly at the  
formal use of my name; the spells were starting to get dangerous.  
I sighed, feeling my heart slash yet again. "Probably making out with Tomoyo some-  
where," I muttered bitterly, not looking up.   
  
I heard her gasp. "First you, now Tomoyo-chan?" she breathed somewhat indignantly,  
then got a disappointed look on her face. "Oh, I'm in love with a player." My head  
shot up at those words -- Naoko, in love with Syaoran? Now I was finally starting to  
feel a tinge of worry and fear through my pain.   
  
The girl's face brightened again and she looked up. "Well, he sure is an adorable   
player. I don't mind, just as long as I can be with him too!" She dashed off. I stared  
after her, blinking slowly as I came slightly out of my seclusion of torture, my vision  
still slightly blurred from tears. You know, the scene would have been almost comical,  
if it wasn't so serious, and if I didn't hurt so much. She had called Syaoran a player,  
yet she was still chasing him. Well, the player part WOULD make sense, I thought  
bitterly with a sigh.   
  
"Sakura." The voice was so low that I almost didn't hear it, but I recognized it anyway,  
and tried to hide my tears. "Oh hello Kero-chan," I greeted listlessly.  
I felt him pat my head in what was supposed to be a soothing motion. If it weren't so...  
suggestive? I was on guard instantly.  
  
"He's not worth your tears, Sakura," Kero told me in a soft voice. "He's just a brat, you  
deserve someone better.."  
I shot my head up, my emerald eyes meeting with his own beady ones in shock..and I  
cringed as I saw the look in them. "Kero-chan, look..." I began, quickly trailing off as  
he flew closer to me.  
  
Luckily, I was one of the few in that forest who was spared yet another strange  
romantic showdown, as Eriol suddenly stepped through the trees. "Sakura, have you.."  
he began, cutting off as he saw Kero and I locked in some type of staring contest.  
An amused look crossed his face, as if he wanted to burst into laughter. I shot a glare  
at him. "Eriol-kun! Do something," I told him, glancing uneasily at Kero, who was still  
watching me as if in a trance. This was too, too weird, I mean, of all people, Kero-  
chan...?  
  
Eriol snickered slightly, and then came up behind Kero. "Just freeze right there, Cer-  
berus," he said, placing a finger on the back of Kero's neck. A blue light sprang from  
the tip of his finger, into Kero's body. Kero froze, and then dropped, unconscious. I  
gasped, quickly catching him in my hands. "Eriol-kun, what did you do?" I demanded.  
"I told you to stop him, not hurt him!"  
  
"I didn't hurt him," Eriol replied matter of factly. "I just put a counterspell on him. When  
he wakes up, the effects from the Clow Card in the forest will be totally wiped from  
him. And the effects can only hit once, so he's safe from then on."  
I gaped at him. "So then, can we do the same to the others who've been affected?"  
I asked eagerly, my mind on Syaoran again.   
  
He shook his head apologetically. "No, it only worked in this case because Cerberus  
is my creation," he explained. Then he reached up a hand, wiping the excess tears  
from my cheeks. I flinched away; suddenly, I was very wary around people. This  
Clow Card was strong, if it could affect even Syaoran...and make me hurt so badly.  
  
"Relax, I haven't been infected yet," Eriol reassured me teasingly. "But I bet I know  
why you've been crying."  
I looked at the soily grass of the forest, then at the multicoloured particles that   
danced in the night breeze. "Syaoran-kun's been affected," I murmured slowly. "I  
feel so helpless...and it hurts more than anything ever could..because he's in love with  
Tomoyo.."  
  
I noticed Eriol glance away ever so slightly as I mentioned Tomoyo's name, and I   
smirked halfheartedly. "Don't worry though, I don't think she's been affected either,"  
I told him, laughing at the way his eyes shot back to me in an annoyed glare.   
  
"Like it matters," he muttered offhandedly. "I just hope you haven't been affected  
either, because we definetly need your help in this."  
I contemplated whether to tease him and pretend that I had been affected, but then  
decided against it; this was too serious a matter to play around with. I knew that  
people's emotions were a very dangerous thing to toy with, and that's exactly what  
the Clow Card was doing.  
  
I shook my head in reassurance. "I'm not infected," I told him. "But I do want to  
stop this thing...but how do I do that, Eriol-kun? I can't even begin to guess which  
Clow card plays around with hearts like this. And besides, I've already caught all the  
Clow Cards--"  
  
"Sakura, with that attitude, you'll never get anywhere," mumbled a voice from my  
hands. Kero sat up, rubbing his head..as if waking up from a dream. "Sheesh, what's  
going on around here?" he demanded. I shook my head. "You don't want to know,  
Kero-chan."  
  
"You have to sense the card first, Sakura-chan," Eriol reminded me. I rolled my eyes  
and then closed them, trying to do what I had been trying to do for half the night.  
Problem was, the Clow Card seemed to be coming from all directions...but then, that  
could be just the reflectives of the emotions that were being caused because of the  
card.  
  
I opened one eye to see Eriol watching me with an expression of hidden amusement.  
"You already know where it is, don't you?" I demanded. He glanced away toward the  
sky, the picture of innocence. "It's your test, Sakura-chan."  
  
I sighed, then closed my eyes. "Focus on where the feeling seems to be the strongest,"  
Kero's voice broke through my riverie. I didn't even have to look up to see the frown  
Eriol must be giving him by now.  
  
Where the feeling was the strongest.....  
I started feeling all kinds of different emotions, and I was suddenly able to tell where  
they were coming from. I could also tell exactly who was infected. Naoko, Meiling, Rika,  
Takashi...Syaoran. Of course, there were dozens of other people throughout the   
festival who were also infected, but they didn't matter at that time. Then I started  
feeling the strongest infection of all, but that was because it wasn't an infection-- it  
was the source. My eyes sprang open. "I've got it!" I shouted, dropping Kero in the  
process of dashing toward the source.  
  
  
  
  
~Meiling's POV~  
  
  
  
  
God, this was so frustrating! I had been running around this whole forest in search of  
dearest Eriol-kun for what seemed to be hours...but all I had done was wind up in a  
complete circle, and I was now back where I'd started.  
  
Tomoyo was still struggling to get away from Syaoran, doing everything she could. It  
was as if he didn't even hear her complaints. I never knew he could be so persistant.  
Not that I could blame him. I just wanted to find Eriol...my face burned up just at the  
thought of him. Man, I had it bad. Well, at least I wasn't the only one, that was a  
fact. I knew there was something very, very strange in the atmosphere of these  
woods tonight, but I didn't care; it felt so nice.  
  
"Li-kun, listen to me!" Tomoyo was now practically screaming at the top of her lungs,  
finally losing patience, which had to be a first for her. "I don't want to hurt you, alright?  
You're one of my friends. You're one of my best friends. But that's all you are to me,  
got it? A friend. You belong to Sakura -- just go be with her."  
  
I rolled my eyes as Syaoran made a flirtatious remark to her latest outburst. I myself  
was getting impatient -- where the heck was Eriol? I had to see him again...  
  
Suddenly, Naoko burst into the clearing in a streak of mint green, which was the  
colour of her sundress, and her face literally glowed, like a sunset.  
"Syaoran-kun!" she squealed, hurtling herself at Syaoran and throwing her arms around  
him from behind, knocking Tomoyo away from him in the process. I don't think I had  
ever seen anyone look as relieved as Tomoyo did right then. Well, maybe Sakura's  
brother whenever Nakuru stopped chasing him...  
  
"Naoko-chan, where did you come from?" Syaoran demanded, glaring at her the best  
he could with her on his back. She gave a giggle, which was a very un-Naoko-like  
sound. "Silly, I've been looking all over this entire forest for you," she pointed out like  
it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
Syaoran sighed in barely concealed annoyance. "Naoko-chan, listen to me, I'm in love  
with Tomoyo-chan--"  
"No you're NOT!" Tomoyo protested loudly. They didn't even seem to hear her.  
Naoko ran around to meet Syaoran's eyes squarely, giving him a smile. "You're a player,  
I know that," she said bluntly. "It's okay, I don't mind, just as long as you realize it's  
me you really love."  
  
Normally I would have been furious with anyone who dared to call MY cousin a player,  
but then, I wasn't exactly in my normal state of mind. Brushing off my fiery red sun-  
dress, I suddenly narrowed my eyes at Tomoyo, suspiciously and angrily.  
"You know where Eriol-kun is, don't you?" I demanded, approaching her and glaring  
at her. She turned to me in surprise, as if just noticing I was there. "He would have  
told you where he went," I continued angrily.  
  
Tomoyo backed away slightly. "No Meiling, I don't know where he is, honestly," she  
insisted. I kept my narrowed gaze on her. "Just what is going on between you and  
Eriol-kun?" I demanded. Her jaw dropped, but her face inflamed, and I didn't even   
bother to let her reply.   
"No, don't answer that, it was a dumb question," I quickly cut in. "But you just better   
not try anything--"  
  
Tomoyo was staring at me in disbelief and something else that I couldn't place, when  
I suddenly heard a very familiar hysterical laughter. All conversation in that clearing  
ceased as we all turned to face a golden floating teddy bear. Tomoyo's eyes widened.  
"Kero!" she exclaimed, then looked hesitantly at Naoko, who was watching the stuffed  
animal in shock.  
  
Kero calmed himself down slightly, grinning at us all. "Well, isn't this a funny scene,"  
he said with an excess snicker.  
Tomoyo ran up to him. "Kero, what are you...you shouldn't be here..." She kept casting  
furtive glances over her shoulder at our other non-magical friend.  
  
"Clow sent me to tell you guys, well you, the brat, and his girlfriend, that Sakura has  
found out the source of this fiasco here. She and Clow went up to find it."  
I knew that "Clow" meant Eriol, and I was about to jump on Kero right then. "What?  
Where is he?" I demanded, but Tomoyo quickly cut in. She looked happy about the  
news, but still kind of put off.   
  
"Kero, you can't just come running in in front of normal people, you know that," she  
scolded. Then, as an afterthought, "Besides, you don't know how unspecific you're  
being by 'Syaoran-kun's girlfriend'," she muttered. Kero took a quick look around the   
clearing, nodding. "I get your point," he mumbled, but then a serious look crossed his  
face. "But this was important, Tomoyo-chan. They're not sure how strong it is, or  
how dangerous it is...you can see it's powerful, I mean it's got the kid under its spell,  
right?"  
  
"You know, you don't have to talk about me as if I'm not here," Syaoran spoke up in  
anger. I stomped my foot in agreement. "That's right! I asked you already, where is  
Eriol-kun?" I demanded again, loudly.  
"He's with Sakura," Kero snapped back. "Enough said."  
  
"Sakura's...in trouble?" Syaoran spoke up again. Glancing over at him, I could see   
something dawning in his cocoa-amber eyes. Very slowly, maybe, but it was still coming.  
"Yes!" Kero cried in exasperation. "She doesn't know what she's facing, and--" he didn't  
even get the chance to finish.   
  
Syaoran gently but firmly yanked Naoko off of him, and then started running. Tomoyo  
followed quickly, and then Kero and I followed.  
  
  
  
  
~Normal POV~  
  
  
  
  
"Oh fearless leader, they're here," trilled one of the three head nymphs, in a somewhat  
sarcastic tone. Another head nymph looked over at the one which had just spoken,  
from where she was twirling around on a leaf, tainting it a moon silver. "What?" she  
exclaimed. "But I haven't yet finished working my magic touches yet! Some of these  
people have yet to feel--"  
  
The main nymph herself opened her eyes and held up a hand firmly, silencing the  
nymph which had just been speaking. As she did this, the golden glowing bead type  
things in the air slowly came down on the three...the things were not fireflies at all...  
they were fairies. And the portrait of all of them right then was like it had come out  
of a fabled picture book.  
  
The main nymph smiled, not a cold smile, but not exactly a warm one either. "She is  
smart. She has not even had any real help from the master, but has mostly worked   
it out on her own." She stood up, revealing a dress that looked like it had been spun  
from golden sunbeams. "We shall give them a warm reunion, shall we not?"  
  
Faint cheering came from the tiny fairies littered in the air. The first nymph that had  
spoken also cheered, pumping a fist in the air. "Anything for the sake of love!" she  
declared. The nymph which had been silenced earlier gave her a wary look. "The  
problem with you is that you take that statement a bit too far. Look at all the trouble  
you have caused today."  
  
"Me?" demanded the other nymph indignantly. "What about you, o d--"  
The main nymph silenced her as well. "Let's not argue about who had run wild the most  
tonight, agreed? It is our night, and we haven't celebrated it in such a long time, it is  
only natural that we have let our hair down moreso that usual. We have all played   
equal parts in this, we shall all take equal responsibility."  
  
  
  
  
~Sakura's POV~  
  
  
  
  
It was close, I could feel it, very close. And I knew because I was starting to feel a  
dizzying sensation, and I was struggling the best I could not to be taken...  
"Don't give into it, Sakura-chan," Eriol reminded me firmly from next to me, as we  
neared the heart of the forest. But I could tell from the tone of his voice that he was  
struggling too, meaning the card would be really powerful, if it could make its own   
master fall under the spell.  
  
"Eriol-kun? This card doesn't HURT people, does it?" I asked cautiously. He glanced  
at me. "Not in the sense that you're thinking of. But I think that it's a given what it  
can do to people's emotional state...sometimes that's more dangerous than anything."  
I nodded silently, and didn't say anymore.  
  
We walked on for a few more minutes, the forest getting brighter and brighter with  
unnatural light the closer we got to the heart. And then finally, I got this feeling like  
we were stepping into another dimension...and I guess in a sense, we were.  
  
I knew that this spring had never been in the forest here before. But it was just like  
something out of...a midsummer's dream. The water was so crystal clear that it   
gave off its own sparkle, despite the number of magical creatures that were all over  
the place. 2 miniature waterfalls splashed down into the spring, usually carrying a  
few fairies with the flow. Fairies and nymphs and strange dragonflies....Naoko would  
be having the time of her life if she were here. This was exactly what she had been  
looking for. I made a mental note to never doubt anything Naoko, Takashi, or Eriol  
said ever again.  
  
Casting a quick look at Eriol, I noticed that he was only mildly surprised, while me on  
the other hand..I would never believe this unless I was seeing it, and even though I  
WAS seeing it, I still had trouble believing it.   
  
"Eriol-kun," I said slowly. "Is this real?"  
"No," he replied promptly. "It's the illusion of the Fairy Card. Should've known."  
"Fairy Card?" I questioned.  
  
He looked at me. "The Fairy Card was made on Midsummer's Eve, as you can probably  
guess. And it was made to play Cupid to a certain couple who were in trouble, but being   
made on the night it was, it kind of got out of control, and...well, pretty much did just   
what it's done tonight. But I thought I'd discarded it a long time ago..." He got a   
confused look on his face.  
  
A nymph came up to us. "You are here, as percieved. The masters are waiting for you."  
I blinked at the nymph. "Uh, masters?"  
"The Fairy Card is comprised of a certain trio," Eriol explained again. "You'll see."  
The nymph quickly held up a hand. "No, the masters only wish to see the Clow Mistress,"  
she stated.   
Eriol smirked at me. "I guess you pretty much saw that one coming. Well, you're up."   
He paused, frowning thoughtfully. "The others are coming, I'll go hold them off."  
  
He walked away before I even had a chance to reply. So I had no other choice but  
to follow the small nymph around the spring. "Um, excuse me," I began hesitantly. "Just  
who are these masters, anyway?"  
"You shall understand when you talk to them," the nymph said in a mishchevious tone.  
  
"They can't be very nice, can they?" I said in annoyance. "I mean, look at what they've  
done. They've really hurt lots of people's feelings, and toyed around with emotions  
like they were just--"  
"It is not their fault, Clow Mistress," the nymph said with a giggle. "It is yours."  
  
I halted in my tracks at the words, and the nymph came floating back after a moment.  
I fixed my eyes on her own huge glowing ones. "What do you mean, this is my fault?"  
I demanded in indignation.   
The nymph took my hand gently. "All questions will be answered once you talk to them."  
  
Well, it didn't take me long to figure out who "they" were. The leaders of this whole  
army of nymphs and fairies. Half fairy, half nymph. The tiny nymph led me behind one  
of the waterfalls, and I came face to face with the 3 head spirits that made up the  
Fairy card.  
  
The one in the middle stood up with a smile when I approached. She was the most  
stunning of all three, with golden silk hair that mixed with the train of her sun-like  
gown. Her eyes were a huge, golden-amber which glowed with an unnatural light; the  
nymph which had brought must have descended from her line.  
  
Then there was the spirit on the left, who captured my interest the most. She was  
obviously some kind of water sprite, with her large eyes gleaming sapphire, hair  
looking like a midnight lake, and her skin faintly tinted blue.   
  
And the one on the right had dark green hair and deep green eyes, yet had an orangish  
glow to her skin; maybe she was an earth sprite? I didn't get any of this. What did  
these 3 beings have to do with what had happened to my friends, to Syaoran...  
  
"Glad you made it, Mistress of the Clow," said the golden fairy, still holding the smile  
on her face. She spoke with a somewhat dignified air, so maybe she was the real  
leader? "I sense you have many questions? Now the real challenge can begin."  
  
"Who are you?" I demanded. "WHAT are you? And what have you done with my friends,  
and everyone else at this festival."  
"Surely you are aware of what night it is," the water fairy said airily. "Things like this  
are only natural."  
"Things like this have never happened until tonight," I countered. The green haired  
fairy shrugged. "True, we have only been able to release ourselves from the bond of  
the Card once our master appeared in this same vicinity, and on this very special eve  
of midsummer."  
  
"I...I don't understand," I murmured, shaking my head slowly, looking from one to the  
next to the next. "Why have you done this?"  
"It's in our nature," the water fairy haughtily pointed out before the golden one hushed  
her.   
  
"We shall explain this in the best way we can," she said smoothly, gesturing to the  
fairy on her right. It seemed the green-haired fairy knew exactly what to do, for she  
stood up and bowed to me. "I am Desire," she said simply, reseating herself. The  
water fairy stood up next. "And I am Mischief."  
  
The golden fairy finally bowed to me. "And lastly, I am Love, or Devotion, choose either  
one." She paused, fixing her startling eyes on me. "Can you put the puzzle together?"  
I gasped; I wasn't that slow on the uptake. I quickly put 2 and 2 together...somewhat.   
Desire and Mischief had seemed to be the main factors that could sum up what was   
going on in the forest tonight. "Uh...you all worked together to cause this?" I guessed.  
  
Desire gave a smirk. "Give the little lady a prize," she said in approval, before being  
silenced by Love/Devotion. Then she turned to me. "Well, you do have some parts  
of it right," she said gently. "Desire and Mischief did run wild tonight, and did get a  
little out of hand, which can explain the intensity of the emotions flying around. But,"  
she gave me a meaningful look. "You're missing the most important part of it. What  
about me?"  
  
I gave her a confused look. "Well...the people are all in love, aren't they?" I replied.  
Desire made an abrupt sound. "Nope, that was me," she quickly spoke up. "I put the  
aphrodisiac in the air to make people THINK they were in love. Hence my name."  
"And I'm the one who made people fall for ones that they have never even considered,"  
Mischief cut in. "Hence MY name. I mean, you have noticed how no one who is in 'love'  
now are people who were expected to be together? In most cases, anyway. Of course,  
the power of all our spells kind of bounced around, which is why so many other people  
are affected too..."  
  
I nodded, remembering Takashi and Rika. But... "What do you mean by 'in most cases'?"  
I wanted to know. Mischief glanced away with a smirk. "Just ask our maker," she   
muttered before Desire shot her a glare. Too late, I already knew what she meant.  
Eriol hadn't fallen under the spell. Tomoyo hadn't fallen under the spell. No further  
questions on that.   
  
I turned to Love/Devotion. "Was that your part? You protected Eriol-kun and Tomoyo  
from the spell because they're already in love?" I asked. She smiled. "You're getting  
close," she said. I furrowed my brow in confusion yet again. "But Chiharu-chan and  
Yamazaki-kun are in love too, but they didn't get saved from it."  
  
Love/Devotion sighed. "I was made to help people see the love between themselves  
and other people. So were Mischief and Desire, technically, but I am much more  
forward about it. Unfortunately, there is a major problem with you and your friends:  
you all are much too stubborn. Oh don't worry, we've encountered that problem many  
times before, but the thing is, to solve it we have to drive to somewhat extreme  
measures. As a Clow Card, we can usually be used any day of the year, but in the  
cases of your friends and you, we had to wait until Midsummer's Eve, so that there  
would at least be a reason to run wild. It is our birthday you know."  
  
"For example," Mischief said quickly and sharply. "Your friends Yamazaki and Chiharu  
are in love, yes? Have they admitted it? No. Not to themselves, not to anyone else,  
even if it is the most obvious thing in the universe. Also, they end up hurting each  
other a lot by saying things that they don't mean to each other, but thinking nothing  
of it. So, the only way to get them to realize what they feel is to bring reality home.  
By making one of them fall in love with someone else, who is very close to them."  
  
"It's not quite the same case for our master and the girl you call Tomoyo," Desire  
continued. "They conceal their feelings, true, but they do not hide them by trying  
to portray that they hate the other. Therefore, there is no reason to drive somebody  
between them in such extreme measures..but the threat still needs to be there.  
Which is why both of them have somebody desiring them in such a strong way."  
  
Love/Devotion's eyes landed on me with a knowing look. "And that brings us to you,  
Sakura," she said quietly. I felt my face flame again, knowing exactly who she was  
talking about. "I-I know exactly what my feelings are," I stammered defensively.  
  
Love/Devotion smirked, shrugging. "Perhaps. But when did you find out?"  
My face turned redder. "Tonight," I mumbled.  
"After...?" Mischief prodded. I felt the stabs of pain course through me again. I sighed.  
"After I saw Syaoran-kun with Tomoyo," I admitted quietly.  
Love/Devotion knelt in front of me. "And it hurt, didn't it?" she asked gently.  
  
The tears threatened to overflow again as I nodded.  
"And now?" Desire prompted, leaning forward in anticipation. I looked upwards.   
"And now I know I'm in love..with Syaoran," I concluded, my voice barely above a  
whisper, feeling my heart constrict. The hardest thing I had ever said in my life...but  
it was true, or it wouldn't hurt so much.  
  
Desire cheered and high-fived Mischief happily. Love/Devotion put a hand on my  
shoulder, winking at me. "And that's it, you've solved the puzzle," she said in conclusive  
satisfaction. I could only stare at her; was it just me, or had that been a little too  
easy?  
  
"Of course, there is an extra thing to do," Love/Devotion added, standing up. "You've  
admitted what you feel to us, and to yourself, which is good. But...you have yet to  
tell the person that it matters the most to. It could still cause problems if you don't."  
I cringed. So much for it being too easy; THIS would be the hardest thing I'd ever  
done in my life.  
  
I looked up at the 3 fairies. "So is this it? Will everything go back to normal?"  
Mischief smirked. "As soon as you seal us it will," she said.  
"Of course, things will never really be normal again for you until you do what you   
have to," Desire reminded me.  
  
I wasn't looking forward to it...but whatever it takes, right?  
Pulling out my sealing wand, I sealed the 3 back into card form. Then everything was  
dark.  
  
  
  
  
~Takashi's POV~  
  
  
  
  
I slowly opened my eyes, and blinked a couple of times to make sure they were really  
open. It was really dark, wherever I was. After a moment, I sat up, hearing someone  
shift next to me. For some reason, I was in...the forest behind the Midsummer's Eve  
festival? How had I gotten here? The last thing I remembered doing was coming in  
here to look for Chiharu, even though I was annoyed with her...but how I had fallen  
asleep? I looked up at the sky; when I had entered the forest, the sun had just set,  
but now, the sky was strewn with glittering stars. Man, I must have been asleep for  
a really long time -- it looked to be about midnight by now.  
  
Then I noticed just who the person next to me happened to be, and my confusion  
only mounted. "Rika-chan?"  
She sat up, rubbing her eyes in slight disorientation. "What?" she murmured. "Yamazaki-  
kun? Where did you come from? Where's Naoko-chan, I thought I was just with her...  
and how did I manage to fall asleep?" The questions just poured out, all questions   
that I wanted to know myself.  
  
"I've got no idea," I muttered, looking around at my surroundings. The only light in  
the forest was coming from the full moon above, as well as the starlight. Strange...  
for some reason, I had an image of my head being alight with an inner glow, with  
fireflies and somewhat magical particles floating in the air....I shook my head in  
bewilderment at the crazy thought. Geez, maybe the stories I told were starting to  
get to me.  
  
"Um, Yamazaki-kun," Rika began hesitantly. "Is it just me, or do you also have a memory  
of being in a very different, strange place just now?"  
I turned to her in surprise. "You mean, you had that dream too?" I demanded.  
  
"Did your dream have Naoko-chan chasing Li-kun, Li-kun chasing Tomoyo-chan,  
Meiling-chan liking Hiiragizawa-kun...and us in love, and hurting Chiharu-chan's feelings?"  
That last part was said in a quieter tone, and I nodded, feeling a slight pang. I quickly  
pushed on. "And there were all these weird things in the air, and the forest was kind  
of glowing..."  
  
"Yeah exactly!" she exclaimed, shaking her head. "Wow, that's strange, us both having  
the dream."  
"And what a weird dream," I added, standing up. She followed suit, brushing the dirt  
off of her sundress. "I still can't believe I fell asleep," she muttered. "It must be really  
late at night. I have to go find Naoko-chan, she must be very worried. I'll see you  
around, Yamazaki-kun." With a backward wave, she disappeared through the trees.  
  
I had a sudden flashback of her calling me Takashi-kun; I dismissed it, it must have  
been from the dream. I began walking in the other direction, in search of Chiharu.  
Of course, she might not even be here anymore, because it was so late. But we  
had agreed to go home together.  
  
Then I saw a figure lying on the ground just a few feet in front of me. And at first I  
was confused for a minute, until I recognized the peach material. Cold fear began   
impaling my heart with icicles.  
"Chiharu!" I cried, at her side in an instant. Not even realizing what I had left out of  
the pronounciation of her name. Pulling her limp body into my arms slightly, I shook  
her. "Chiharu, wake up!"  
  
She slowly began to stir, then her eyes opened. "Takashi-kun?"  
I blinked, then gave her a quick hug, relief running through me in waves. "Are you  
okay? What happened?"  
She rubbed her eyes in confusion. "Takashi-kun, relax, I think I just passed out or  
something," she muttered.   
  
I frowned worriedly. "Why?" I wanted to know, concerned.  
"I...I'm not sure really," she realized, shaking her head. "One minute I was just..." her  
voice suddenly trailed away as she looked at me, as if just noticing me. It was the  
weirdest thing. Her eyes widening slightly, she shrank away from me. I watched her  
in confusion. "Chiharu-chan? What's wrong?"  
  
She narrowed her eyes at me, and I think that's when I first noticed the tearstains.  
She had been crying...  
"Where's Ri -- Sasaki-chan?" she demanded. I had never heard her sound so cold in  
all the years I had known her...and had she just called Rika 'Sasaki-chan'?  
I blinked. "Uh, Rika-chan just left, she went looking for Naoko-chan if you want to  
find her..."  
  
Chiharu gave a bitter chuckle. "Oh, so she left you alone? Is that why you're here  
with me now?"  
I raised an eyebrow at her strange behaviour. "Chiharu-chan, I don't see how it should  
matter to Rika-chan what I do," I pointed out.   
  
She just glared suspiciously at me. "Why are you calling me Chiharu-chan again? Was  
Mihara-chan too hard for you?"  
All I could do was stare at her in surprise. "I've been calling you Chiharu-chan since  
we were 4 years old," I reminded her, baffled. "When have I ever called you 'Mihara-  
chan'?" Even as I said the words, the meaning sounded familiar, like something I might  
have said recently...  
...or maybe in a dream? I suddenly stared at Chiharu in realization; she must have had  
the same dream, too.  
  
Chiharu's glare wavered, and she became wary. "What are you playing at?" she demand-  
ed to know. "Look, I know you don't care about me at all anymore, and that you're in  
love with Rika-chan now, but I won't let you make fun of me this way, it's not fair.."  
To my utter surprise, Chiharu suddenly burst into tears. All I could do was stare at  
her, stunned; what she had described was exactly what had happened in the dream.  
She must have had it too...only she thought it was real.  
  
"J-just go..away," she sobbed through her tears. Completely ignoring her request, I  
came closer and rested my hands on her shoulder, gently squeezing them. "Chiharu-  
chan, you're getting all upset over nothing. It was just a dream you must have had when  
you passed out. I had it too, and so did Rika-chan. It's alright," I reassured her.  
She shot her head up, giving me a strange look, as if it were ME getting so worked up  
over an illusion of the mind.  
  
"Uh, Takashi-kun," she began warily, in a voice that seemed to be questioning my sanity.   
I sighed. "Look, was the forest all aglow and stuff in the air?" I demanded.  
She paused, an uncertain look flashing across her face. "Well, yeah..."  
"Look around, Chiharu-chan. Do you still see it doing that?"   
Her hazelnut eyes scanned the now-neutral woods, and the confusion etched on her  
face grew. "I...I thought.."  
  
I smiled in understanding. "I know, Rika-chan and I had the same dream, and it was  
really weird...some strange stuff happened in that dream." I paused uncomfortably,  
remembering just WHAT strange stuff had taken place. Chiharu blinked slowly, and  
nodded. "I don't know...it seemed so real," she murmured in confusion, then shook  
her head, a strange look of relief passing over her face. "But what am I saying, it  
MUST have been a dream, you're right."  
  
I raised an eyebrow at her; "You're right" were 2 words I rarely ever heard her say to  
me. She noticed my skeptical look and looked down. "Uh, Takashi-kun, I'm really sorry,  
for everything. You were right about it all, and I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, I  
really do care about you..."  
  
I placed a finger over her mouth to silence her; even through the jumbled mess that  
she had just babbled out, I still knew what she was trying to say. I smiled at her.  
"I understand, Chiharu," I told her simply. She burst into tears again, happy ones this  
time. Then she gave me a kiss on the cheek and buried her face in my chest, clinging to   
me tightly. And that was enough for me.  
  
  
  
  
~Eriol's POV~  
  
  
  
  
"Eriol-kun! Eriol-kun, can you hear me?"  
I honestly expected the voice to belong to Sakura; she was the only one who was  
present who'd call me Eriol-kun. So I got a shock when I opened my eyes to stare   
into 2 orbs of lavender-amethyst. I should have sensed her aura...but the shock wasn't  
exactly a bad one.  
  
Tomoyo's anxious expression melted into one of complete relief as she watched me  
wake up. "Hiiragizawa-kun, are you alright?" she asked quickly.  
Blinking a few times, I sat up, still staring at her curiously. "Yeah...I'm alright," I  
murmured slowly. She peered into my eyes carefully, then felt my forehead (don't ask  
me why), until she became flustered under my steady gaze and pulled away. "That's  
good," she said lightly. "It's all over now."  
  
I blinked in confusion, and then scanned the whole area. The glow from the forest  
was gone and I couldn't feel anything anymore, meaning Sakura had succeeded. I   
wondered what she'd had to go through -- I didn't really know much about the Fairy  
card, despite the fact that I had invented it. Naoko, Meiling, and Syaoran just seemed to   
be waking up, Kero was floating next to Tomoyo, surveying everything..Sakura was still  
out cold. I could imagine, it must have taken a lot out of her to seal and convert the  
Fairy card, it was very powerful.  
  
"Wh..what happened?" muttered Naoko, pushing herself into a sitting position. Tomoyo  
and I watched apprehensively as her gaze shifted to Syaoran...but she just gave him  
a passing glance, and nothing more. I exhaled in relief; at least Naoko was free from  
the spell. Just the same, although Syaoran's gaze lingered on Tomoyo for a moment,  
the expression on his face was not one of desiring love, but of just plain confusion.  
Ditto for Meiling when she looked at me. Tomoyo quickly yanked Kero out of the air   
and hid him behind her back, stuffing her finger over his mouth before Naoko heard  
him or saw him again.  
  
"Hey, did anyone else have a really, really messed up dream?" Meiling questioned,  
rubbing her head as if trying to figure out where the "dream" had come from. Dream?  
I scrutinized her carefully, before finally realizing what must be going on. Everyone  
who had been affected by the power of the Fairy card now thought it had been   
nothing but a dream...just like in Shakespeare's play. I knew it had actually happened,  
and judging from Tomoyo's earlier comment, she knew it too, but then we hadn't been  
affected. At least, not in the same way as the others had been. I had been feeling  
stronger than ever toward Tomoyo, but I had been feeling this way for the longest  
time..and the effect hadn't gone away.  
  
Naoko gasped in response to Meiling's statement. "Yeah!" she exclaimed, eyes widening.  
"The forest was glowing, and had all these strange things drifting around in the air,  
you were chasing Hiiragizawa-kun around, totally in love with him--"  
"And you were doing the same for Syaoran," Meiling pointed out in amazement. "And  
Rika-chan and Yamazaki-kun were all over each other--"  
  
"Let's not forget about Syaoran-kun, who wouldn't leave me alone," Tomoyo added  
in a teasing tone, with a quick wink at me. My cute descendant scowled and looked up,   
colouring slightly. "That's why it's called a dream, 'cause it'll never happen," he retorted.  
"Gee, thanks," Tomoyo replied, sarcasm dripping from every word.  
"I hope you don't take that attitude with all your dreams, Li-kun," I remarked.  
  
"Oh my God, you guys had it too?" a voice exclaimed from the trees. Rika ran out of  
the shadows, eyeing us all in amazement. Meiling's jaw dropped. "You mean to tell me  
that YOU had it?" she demanded, her voice almost a squeak. Rika nodded rapidly.  
"And so did Yamazaki-kun...this is the weirdest thing."  
  
"We all had the same dream," Naoko realized aloud. "Just like 'A Midsummer Night's   
Dream'. Then maybe it WASN'T a dream, maybe it really was real! Then if it was real,  
then it would be caused by fairies, right? That's the legend, isn't it Hiiragizawa-kun?"  
Not even waiting for my response, she plowed on. "So then, they MUST still be here.  
Midsummer's Eve doesn't end until dawn arrives, and it's only midnight." She jumped  
up and dashed through the trees, as the rest of us sweatdropped. Strangely enough  
though, Meiling and Rika got up to follow her; I guess they were taking no chances.  
  
Syaoran was already kneeling by Sakura's side, watching her worriedly. "Why didn't  
she wake up?" he muttered. Tomoyo ran to Sakura's other side, and I followed,   
replying to Syaoran's question. "She had to seal the Fairy Card, and convert it to a  
Sakura card -- you DO realize that it wasn't all a dream, right?"  
  
Syaoran nodded. "I figured that out the moment I woke up. Guess that means that it  
only seemed like a dream to non-magic people."  
"Who were affected," Tomoyo quickly pointed out to Syaoran, turning her attention  
back to her best friend as she began to stir. "Sakura-chan? Are you alright?"  
  
"I'm fine," mumbled Sakura, as she rubbed her eyes and sat up. "Is it over yet?"  
Tomoyo laughed. "Yup, and not a moment too soon. I was getting way too tired from  
having to run from Li-kun, and convince him who he really--"  
I slipped a hand in front of Tomoyo's mouth to stop her before she began blurting   
things out that I knew both Syaoran and Sakura would want to murder her for. "Look  
you too, I think Tomoyo wants to go back on the carnival rides again before they  
close down for the night. We'll leave you 2 here for a minute, k?" I said quickly, shooting  
Tomoyo a warning look as she struggled against me. I literally had to tug her away  
from the other 2.  
  
  
  
  
~Syaoran's POV~  
  
  
  
  
I had seriously never wanted to kill someone as much as I wanted to kill Eriol right then.  
Man, the guy really knew how to make the best of situations, didn't he?  
I didn't even know how to begin, let alone what I should say. I kept my gaze down,  
staring at the grass that shone faintly in the moonlight. Kind of like the way her eyes  
were right now...  
  
She wasn't looking at me either, seeming to find her pink sundress the most fascinating  
thing in the world. She continued to finger the material, the moonlight dappling through  
the trees making her hair seem as if it were lit by a fire of stars, and giving her the  
look of an angel on earth. Which she was, of course. She had always been an angel  
to me, who had found me just when my life was darkest, and had pulled me out of it,  
although she sometimes ended up putting me through even worst times. All the while   
completely innocent and unknowing of what she was doing to me...  
  
I had to break the silence, it was killing me. "Are you alright?"  
She blinked up at me, startled; I don't think she'd expected me to be the first to   
speak. She quickly looked down again, her face strangely red. "I'm fine, except for  
the fact that I'm gonna kill Eriol-kun next time I see him."  
  
I had to smirk at that. "Well, at least someone finally shares my wishes," I replied.  
She looked at me, and then laughed. "You're always so mean to him, Syaoran-kun,"  
she scolded lightly. "And you're supposed to be his descendant, too. Besides, I only  
want to pay him back because..." she trailed off, quickly looking away again. I sighed.  
  
"Sakura, listen..." I began; even if I hadn't exactly been myself tonight, I still wanted  
to apologize for what I'd put her through. "I'm really sorry about all this--"  
She blinked at me. "It wasn't YOUR fault, Syaoran-kun," she pointed out.  
I raised an eyebrow skeptically, shaking my head. "Like I'm going to listen to that. You  
never blame anyone for anything. But you didn't fall under the spell, and you're a  
card captor too...so it must have been something I did."  
  
For some reason, it seemed as if I had said something that Sakura had been dreading,  
for she cringed before replying. "It's not your fault. It's mine."  
I rolled my eyes. "You always do that, too," I pointed out to her. "How can it possibly  
be your fault? You didn't even fall under the power!"  
Sakura looked up at the sky, every single star up there shimmering in her eyes. Making  
her look all the more like a goddess of beauty. In my opinion, Aphrodite couldn't hold  
a candle to her.  
  
Or maybe it was the aftereffects of the incident that were speaking?  
  
Sakura drew her knees up to her chest, pulling away from me slightly, and I frowned;   
okay, I can admit that I loved having her near me. "The card told me something tonight,"  
she murmured, pausing hesitantly after nearly every word. "It...it said that there was  
a reason for everything, almost everything that had happened tonight. For Chiharu and  
Yamazaki-kun, she always pretends she hates him, so they had to make him fall in  
love with Rika-chan, so Chiharu would finally understand how she felt about him once  
he was gone from her. In Eriol-kun's and Tomoyo's case, they don't act like they hate  
each other, but they still haven't recognized what they're feeling for each other..so  
they had to make you and Meiling fall in love with them, so that they would feel   
threatened..." she trailed off then, in a somewhat abrupt way.  
  
I scowled. "You mean I was just a pawn?"  
Sakura met my eyes, and I could swear I saw the tiniest hint of fear in those emerald  
pools. She slowly shook her head, once again tearing her eyes away. "No," she almost  
whispered. "Meiling might have been...but you were special for a reason..."  
I raised an eyebrow, hearing the tone in her voice. "Oh? And just what was I so special  
for?"  
  
Sakura bit down on her lip, and shrank even farther away from me. I stared at her  
in confusion. "Sakura?"  
She kept her eyes fastened on the ground, which was now the latest most fascinating  
thing to her. "I...they said that I had to admit something, to myself. And I did it. That's  
what stopped this whole thing. But they said to stop it forever, I had to tell you that  
something, too..."  
  
I watched her carefully, feeling just the tiniest hint of...hope? "And what is this 'some-  
thing'?"  
Sakura stared at me for a minute, then made a little sound and buried her face in her  
hands. I had to snicker briefly at her antics, she was just so cute sometimes. And  
really, no other girl had ever made me feel this way, had ever even come close..and  
yes, that included Tomoyo. No matter what I had been feeling for her earlier tonight,  
it didn't compare to this.  
  
"Sakura," I said. "This doesn't exactly solve your problem, you know."  
She said something from behind her hands, and of course, it came out all muffled. "What?"  
I asked, furrowing my brow in confusion. She said it louder. I still didn't hear it clearly...  
but I don't think I needed to. I think I knew what she'd said, just by her actions. The  
way she was shrinking even farther away from me. And honestly, I had never felt as  
happy. Still...  
  
I gently pulled Sakura's hands away from her face, which was now flushed red, of  
course. I held her hands firmly in her lap. "Okay, will it help if I try to guess what you  
just said?" I asked her. Sakura blinked up at me in surprise, then nodded, taken aback.  
"Uh..sure, I guess..." I bet she thought I would never figure it out.  
  
I really hated to shatter any illusions of hers, but anyway...I smirked mischeviously.  
"Was it...I'm sorry for always making you mad?" I pretended to guess; I was already  
certain of what she must have said, but hey, it wasn't a crime to play around a little,  
right? She was the only one I would ever show this side of me to.  
  
Sakura slowly shook her head, faint tracings of a smile on her face. "Noo," she replied.  
Then added hastily, "Well, I AM sorry for making you mad, and annoying you all the  
time, if that's what I do, but that's just not what I said..." I shook my head quickly.  
"That's alright. I'm sorry too," I told her, loving the way the happy smile blossomed  
on her face. But then I gave her a mock-scrutinizing look.  
  
"But since that's not what you said, I have to guess again, right?" She nodded, becoming  
slightly more at ease.  
"Well then...was it, 'I'm glad you're back to normal'?" I guessed yet again. She blinked  
at me momentarily, but then gave a little giggle. "I am glad you're back to normal,  
Syaoran-kun, but...that was just a lame attempt," she commented, sticking her   
tongue out at me in laughter.  
  
I gave her an intense smirk, ready to drive it in now. "Oh was it?" I said casually. "Well  
then, how about this: was it 'I love you'?"  
"I--" Sakura's face went ashen, and then bright red, and she quickly hid it in her hands  
again, pulling away from me again. I felt sorry for her, the poor girl was obviously  
mortified. Still...she didn't have anything to worry about.  
  
"Sakura?" I lightly pulled her hands away from her face again, looking straight into her  
eyes. "That is what you said, isn't it." It wasn't exactly a question as much as it was  
a statement. Sakura firmly fixed her eyes on the ground again, at a ladybug that was  
scurrying by. Then I felt a twinge in my heart as tears suddenly appeared in those  
emerald orbs.   
  
"Yes," she whispered, so quietly that at first I wasn't even sure if she had spoken.  
"That's what I said." Then she yanked her hands out of my grip. "There, I said it, now  
you know. Now you can tease me, make fun of me, tell me that you hate me, and  
whatever else you want to do!" Tears were making their way in streams down her  
cheeks.  
  
And I just watched her with a tender smile. Really, this girl did strange things to me.  
Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, because no matter what the circumstances, it   
always hurt to see her cry. I tilted her head up so that she was forced to look right  
at me. "You left out one other option I could take," I told her softly. "I could say I  
love you too."  
  
I think it took her a second to register what I'd said, because she just stared back at  
me in slight confusion. But then her eyes went wide. She looked back at me in complete  
shock for a moment, and then quickly pulled away. "You don't," she said quietly, looking  
down for the umpteenth time. "You can't, because you hate me, and it isn't fair to  
tease me like this, that's just plain mean..."  
  
I sighed in frustration; she could be so stubborn sometimes. Blind to the obvious...  
"Sakura," I said firmly, gripping her shoulders, but gently so I didn't hurt her. "Listen  
to me."  
"Why?" she countered, anger evident in her voice.  
"Because this isn't a lie," I told her. "I would never joke about something like this. I  
really do care a lot about you..a lot." I laughed softly, tenderly brushing the tears  
away from her face. "Sometimes maybe even too much, I think. Because I would do  
anything for you..."  
  
"Syaoran.." I instantly noticed when she left out the "-kun". And I didn't care at all; it  
was so much better this way.  
"You mean...you really..." For the second time that night, Sakura seemed incapable to  
form a full sentence. She was quiet for a minute, but then, "But we always fight, and  
I know you hate me, not to mention--"  
  
I rolled my eyes, then quickly cut her off with a kiss. It was a spur of the moment type  
of thing, but it took even ME off guard, sending electric chills all down my spine.  
Sakura's body was shaking slightly when I pulled away, her cheeks flushed brightly. I  
pulled her into a hug, just enjoying the fact that she was in my arms...and I never  
wanted to let go.  
  
"I don't know where you ever got the idea that I HATED you, but I'll tell you right now;  
it's not something I'd ever be able to do, Sakura," I murmured softly in her ear. "Because  
you mean everything to me."  
  
She didn't reply, her body still shaking. I could feel her heartbeat since she was pressed  
up so close to me -- it was going very fast...  
"Sakura, are you alright?" I asked her in concern. She turned to me, her eyes having  
a slightly dazed look in them. She blinked slowly. "I'm alright," she reassured, blushing.  
"Well, as alright as I can be, since you're here with me.."  
  
I smiled teasingly at her. "Well, I wouldn't want to give you a heart attack or anything.."  
She frowned at me mock-angrily, then pressed her hand against my own heart. And  
yeah, it was only beating at the rate of 150 miles per hour..was that too fast?  
She smiled up at me with an eyebrow raised. "Somehow Syaoran, I'm getting the feeling  
that you're worrying about the wrong person," she remarked, before giving me another  
kiss.  
  
  
  
  
~Tomoyo's POV~  
  
  
  
  
"Picture perfect," I murmured with a little smirk as I finished off the scene with a little  
snapshot of my 2 best friends lost away in their own world, before turning off my   
camcorder and actually being able to watch them without the lens of a camera. I  
sighed blissfully, but quietly; they looked so happy together, just like I knew it would  
be. All the same, I was looking forward to endlessly teasing Syaoran with 'I told you  
sos'.  
  
Secretly, I wondered what it was like to be in love that way...to have the person  
love you back too. And without the effect of a few power-crazy wild fairies on a magical  
night, I added silently with a giggle. Of course, I had felt love before, with Sakura...but  
I had only wanted her to be happy, and now she was. And that made me happy too.  
And now I think I was feeling it again, because the feeling hadn't gone away with the  
other effects of the Fairy Card...and that's what scared me like anything.  
  
I began wandering away, glancing over my shoulder from time to time. Somehow, I  
didn't think those 2 would be going anywhere for a long time.  
Which could have ended up being a big problem.  
  
"Tomoyo-san!"  
I froze as I recognized the familiar voice of Sakura's older brother, and cringed. 2 words  
could sum up the situation: uh oh. Touya would blow a major brain vessel if he found  
Sakura. IF.  
  
Composing myself, I turned around with my usual casual smile. "Oh hello, Touya-san,"  
I said. "Uh, is something wrong?" I asked because he seemed to have an expression  
of intense annoyance and slight fear on his face. I could only think of one thing that  
could make him look like that: Nakuru. "Is it Nakuru-san again?"  
  
Touya sighed, shaking his head. "How'd you ever guess? As if she isn't bad enough   
already, the weirdest things have been happening tonight."  
"You don't say?" I said this somewhat uneasily, with a nervous laugh. Luckily he didn't  
pick up on it.  
  
"Yeah, I mean, one minute she was hanging all over me, and then when the sun went  
down, she started practically hunting Yukito-san down." He glanced over his shoulder  
with a small snicker. "He nearly had to go into hiding for almost the whole night. But  
then just half an hour ago she started chasing me down again." He frowned. "I wonder  
if I should ask that Hiiragizawa kid if she's sick or not."  
  
My heart did a strange little flip at the mention of Eriol. I tried to ignore it. "Maybe it  
was just something in the air," I offered, concentrating every ounce of my self-control  
to keep from bursting into laughter. Touya was right; Eriol's creation was bad enough  
every other day of the year, and all she needed was a night like Midsummer's Eve to  
run wild. I didn't even want to imagine the scene she must have caused, it was   
probably worse than what had gone on in the forest tonight.  
  
"Yeah. Well anyway, have you seen the kaijuu?" Touya asked me. Now this was the  
part I'd been dreading, but I kept a neutral expression. "No, not lately," I told him  
apologetically. "But..the last time I saw her, she was on that end of the forest." I  
pointed to the direction opposite the one Sakura and Syaoran were in now.   
  
He nodded and started heading that way. "Well thanks Tomoyo-san, I'll see you   
around."  
I held my breath until he was completely out of sight, then collapsed against another  
cherry blossom tree in relief. Sakura so owed me for that.  
  
I glanced up at the sky, at the North Star, which was now already setting. Meaning  
it was past midnight. Midsummer's Eve was over. I felt a strange sadness; it had been  
a very...interesting night, to say the least. Briefly, I wondered if Meiling, Naoko and  
Rika were still somewhere in the forest, searching for any hint of fairies.  
  
Just like Shakespeare's book, I remembered. They all thought it was nothing but a  
dream, a fantasy...an illusion. No matter how real it had seemed, it couldn't have   
possibly been reality. I was glad that I at least knew the truth, and I could carry it  
in my memory. Even if I had thought it had been a dream, it would have been near  
impossible to forget; it had been very special.  
  
Still, I wanted something to make it even MORE special. Through the twisted coils of  
want and desire tonight, Sakura and Syaoran had found true love. I was willing to bet  
big money that Takashi and Chiharu had, too. And I couldn't help but feel a little lonely...  
and VERY strange, because I knew who the only one I wanted was...but he was an  
all powerful sorcerer. And I was just...an ordinary girl. The image of Meiling hanging off  
of Eriol's arm the way she had been doing earlier popped into my mind. Even if she  
didn't have magic in her, Meiling was still an important member of the Clow business...and  
I wasn't really. So even if it had been just a crazy spell, still...  
  
I got annoyed with myself, and with the tinge of hurt that the thought had brought  
me. I had never thought this way before...  
  
I had just made it out onto the hills beyond the forest when I first heard the music.  
Behind the forest there is this huge stretch of plain field and rolling hills, which were  
now a hooded silver in the moon's light. I was slightly surprised to hear the music, but  
that didn't last long; it was coming from the festival, the midnight dance. It was a  
tradition of Midsummer's Eve, as I had read in an advertisement for the festival. It now  
made me think of the fairies' dance in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. How they had  
danced to the tune of their own music, a type of dance that must have been beautiful..  
and suddenly I was dancing too.  
  
It was completely on impulse; I took dancing lessons sometimes and all, but they were  
private, because I hated dancing in front of people. I was always convinced that I  
was no good. But there was no one around, right? I was the only one on the hills..so  
I thought. So before I knew it, I had taken off my ivory hat, placed it on the grassy  
hill, and was moving to the haunting music that came from the festival, making up   
steps as I went along, with Shakespeare's fairy dance in my head. The only thing wrong  
was that my long violet tendrils which I had left loose and unbound, kept smacking me  
in the face. Which was annoying, to say the least.   
  
But then something else quickly became wrong.  
"Amazing," said a smooth voice from the forest. I literally froze, feeling cold all over,  
and I was right in midstep too, so I ended up falling. The cold was quickly replaced  
by fiery heat rushing to my cheeks; I knew I had never felt so embarrased before.  
  
"Hiiragizawa-kun," I said stiffly, sitting up and brushing off my lavender sundress. "How  
long have you been here?"  
He came over, and taking my hands, helped me to my feet. "I'd say I got here just in  
time, wouldn't you Daidouji-san?" he said with an annoyingly teasing tone to his voice.  
He gave me an unnerving smile at the sight of my still red cheeks, even with all my  
furious attempts to force the blush down.  
  
"Don't feel so bad about it," he told me with a smirk. "It really was amazing, you're a very   
good dancer. And you made that up all by yourself, didn't you?"  
I steadied myself on my feet, unable to help but notice that we still hadn't let go of  
each others' hands. I shook my head, not looking up at him. "Not really," I admitted.  
"I kind of had the dance of the fairies from Shakespeare's play in my mind."  
  
He nodded understandingly. "Can't blame you," he muttered. "It's been one strange  
night." He paused, looking me over as that smile came back to his face, completely  
disarming me. "Do you want to dance again?"  
After all my efforts to squash down the redness in my cheeks, they proved fruitless  
as the blood came rushing up again. "No!" I protested, covering my face with my  
hands. "I bet I looked like a major idiot."  
  
He snickered, pulling my hands away as he shook his head. "No. You were really living  
up to your name. A plum blossom dances in the wind, just like you were. It was...  
captivating to say the least."  
"Yeah right," I muttered. "My hair was all over the place."  
"Which just added to the effect," he countered smoothly. I shook my head, then  
gave him a challenging look.  
  
"I'll dance, if you dance with me." The words were out before I even had a chance to  
think about them, or feel embarrased by my boldness. He was surprised.  
"What?"  
"You heard me. So?"  
  
He paused to consider, then a slow smile spread across his face..and I wondered what  
I had gotten into. Maybe I was already in too deep to pull out..?  
"Alright," he agreed simply.   
  
I nodded, stepping closer to him. Refusing to look him in the eye. He took one of my  
hands, placed it on his shoulder, and then held onto the other one as he put his arm  
around my waist. And then it just started, and it felt so...natural, somehow. And don't  
ask why it felt that way, it just..did, that's all. Still, I had never felt so uneasy and at  
the same time so relaxed and safe..and I think the latter feeling was the reason for the  
first one. I think I was just the tiniest bit afraid of Hiiragizawa Eriol..or what he made  
me feel.  
  
I wasn't sure how long we were like that, just moving to the music from the festival  
all alone on the hills, but up until that point, I had been able to refrain from looking up  
into his eyes. But then he just stopped suddenly, pulling away ever so slightly, and I  
could feel his intent gaze on me. Then he spoke, in an extremely soft voice: "Tomoyo-  
san."  
  
I blinked in surprise and then met his eyes, which looked like dark oceans on a crystal  
clear night, something unexplainable in them. And I felt my breath catch, like the chain  
of air had literally been sliced, with a knife or something. I was starting to feel slightly  
dizzy...but that couldn't be right, Sakura had already sealed the Fairy Card. I shouldn't  
be feeling this...  
  
"You said my real name," I said weakly, finally remembering to breathe.  
He smirked. "You said mine too," he informed me.   
"What? When?" I demanded in confusion, then realization swept over me; oh yeah,  
when I had been trying to wake him up earlier. With an incredible effort, I tore my  
eyes away from his and looked down, blushing profusely. "I-I didn't know you'd heard  
me then..."  
  
He shrugged, still smiling at me. "It's alright. Actually, I don't mind at all."  
I stepped back from his arms, only just realizing that the music had stopped. Of course,  
it might have stopped ages ago for all I knew. It wasn't fair that he could sweep me  
away like that, because I was just a normal girl and he was a sorcerer...  
  
"Well, you dance very nicely, Eriol-kun," I told him, sitting back on the grassy hill and  
tilting my head up to look at the sky. He chuckled and sat down next to me. "So do  
you Tomoyo-san," he replied. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"  
I shrugged as nonchalantly as I could, keeping my gaze firmly toward the stars. He  
followed my eyes, and then sighed. Then I noticed a shooting star, and gasped; I had  
never seen one of those before in my life.  
  
"Oh my gosh," I gasped, watching the celestial orb streak across the sky, leaving a  
tiny white trail in its wake. Eriol smiled at me -- or was it more of a smirk? "You like  
shooting stars?" he asked casually. I nodded. "Yeah, but I haven't ever seen one   
before," I said, hearing the child-happy tone of my voice.  
  
Eriol smirked again (it was definetly a smirk this time), as I turned my eyes back to  
the sky. Then they widened in surprise as I noticed what was going on. Star after  
star were shooting across the sky -- a meteor shower. A heavy duty one, at that.  
It was breathtakingly beautiful, gorgeous. I couldn't believe I was seeing this, it was   
supposed to be very rare...and then my jaw dropped open in a startled gasp as I realized   
what was causing it. What could be the only thing causing it.  
  
I whirled to Eriol, staring at him in shock. "You."  
He turned to me with a relaxed smile, eyebrow raised. "Yes?"  
"You're doing this, aren't you?" I demanded in complete certainty. He turned to look  
back at the sky with an innocent casual look, and yet another star shot across the sky.  
"Whatever makes you think that, Tomoyo-san?"  
  
I didn't bother replying to the dumb question, when the answer was so easily obvious.  
I just smiled, feeling a warm sensation course through my body.   
"Thank you." The words said it all.  
"Anything for you," he replied calmly, flippantly.   
  
We watched the display silently for a while, and I was not getting bored at all, because  
it was just so amazing.  
"I hope you're making a wish," Eriol spoke up suddenly. I blinked. "Oh yeah, I almost  
forgot."  
  
I stared at the sky for a moment, then closed my eyes, making sure the image was  
firmly implanted in my brain; this was yet another thing that had made this night  
special, and it was all because of him.  
'I wish....that Eriol-kun would make this special night perfectly complete. I wish that  
he would know the way I feel, and that he would feel the same way too.'  
  
"Tomoyo."  
I opened my eyes and was instantly pinned down by Eriol's intense gaze, which seemed  
to burn through me like an X-ray. And I was taken completely by surprise when he  
suddenly leaned forward and kissed me...which wasn't good, because the dizzying  
sensation got so strong I felt I was about to pass out, or hyperventilate or something.  
But I just kissed him back -- yet another thing that felt completely natural and right.  
  
Once again, I don't know how long we stayed like that, because it seemed as if time  
had just frozen in mid-turn. But when we broke off I suddenly found myself in Eriol's  
arms, leaning against his chest. "I love you Tomoyo," I heard him whisper in my ear..  
was I dreaming? And then a teasing yet fond note entered his voice. "Did your wish  
come true?"  
  
I was caught completely off guard and didn't say anything for a moment, but then:  
"I love you too, Eriol." Then I paused, and pulled back slightly, looking at him in  
confusion. "How...did you know? Did you read my mind?" The last part I said in a slightly  
accusing tone. He gave me a mock-insulted look. "Tomoyo, I'm not that bad," he  
said defensively. "But I just happen to know how the Fairy card works..and I realized  
why we didn't fall under the spell." Then he smirked lightly. "Besides, it was written  
all over your face."  
  
I hit him on the shoulder, not hard of course, and then buried my face in my hands  
again, annoyed with the way I was always so easy to read. He laughed softly, and I  
felt him draw me to him again gently. I was quiet for a minute, then looked up at him  
again. "Eriol...why?"  
"Why what?"  
"Why did you fall for me, when you're an all-powerful sorcerer...and I'm just an ordinary  
girl?" I asked, genuinely curious. He seemed to find it funny, for he chuckled again. "You  
mean, how do you, of all people, do what you do to me?" he asked casually.  
  
I blushed yet again for what had to be the 10 millionth time, but I just nodded. "I  
guess that would work too."  
Eriol shook his head, smiling at me in that special way of his. I felt my heart melt,  
almost literally. "Honestly Tomoyo, you're asking the wrong person, because I have no  
clue," he told me. "But listen, you may not exactly be a wizard, but you definetly aren't  
'just an ordinary girl', alright?" He hugged me to him again, and I held on to him,  
completely satisfied with an answer. And swearing that I would never let go.  
  
  
Everything turned out alright in the end...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
~FIN  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Author's Note: The only character that belongs to me is the Fairy Card (Love/Devotion,  
Desire, and Mischief).  
  
Ookaayy...is it just me, or does anyone else have cavities from the ending of this fic.  
I honestly didn't mean to make it this sappy, sorry everyone. Once again, comments  
are appreciated, you can email me at starviewcom@hotmail.com (I really do like getting  
emails ^_^). Hope you enjoyed! Reminder: I know that the characters may have  
seemed a bit OOC in this, but please do keep in mind that they were all under a love  
spell, kk?   
  
P.S: You're right Fallon-chan, this wasn't easy ^^;; 


End file.
